A crippling double bogey on his second-last gap robbed Adam Scott of the possibility to shoot a outstanding 59 within the opening spherical of the $20m Travellers Championship.
However the Aussie veteran says the magic quantity by no means entered his thoughts earlier than or after an method shot from the seventeenth fairway ended any probability of breaking the 60 barrier.
Watch each spherical of the PGA Tour LIVE & Unique on Fox Sports activities, accessible on Kayo. New to Kayo? Begin your free trial now >
On a day affected by low scores, the Australian veteran was on monitor for his lowest ever after a staggering 10 birdies by way of his opening 15 holes.
Needing to seek out two extra on his last three to interrupt the magic 60 barrier, the 2013 Masters champ as an alternative discovered water from the golf green on the seventeenth gap that led to a six.
Scott then nailed his eleventh birdie on the ultimate gap to document an eight-under par 62, equalling the 11 birdies he shot to win the Qatar Masters in 2008.
“I feel if I made eagle on 15 it (a 59) was actually proper on,” he mentioned.
“I didn’t actually (give it some thought). I used to be simply making an attempt to simply preserve doing what I used to be doing on the market.
“It was all going actually properly and I wasn’t considering an excessive amount of about something at the moment.”
MORE COVERAGE
US Open footage sparks debate amid declare winner obtained away with dishonest
Scott at centre of crunch PGA assembly as LIV stars set to be taught destiny over merger bombshell
‘WTF simply occurred?’: Baffling putt at US Open angers fellow golfers as officers react
Scott mentioned a gust of wind might have been the rationale his shot on the seventeenth discovered the water and ended his run.
“I don’t actually have the reply for you. I can solely speculate,” he mentioned.
“The wind was simply transferring round a bit of bit the previous couple of holes between type of east and northeast and north and no wind, and (it) felt like there was none actually after I was hitting.
“However it got here up effectively brief, so perhaps obtained caught in one thing, as a result of the subsequent shot the identical membership went 15 yards additional. So, yeah, I actually don’t know.
“It‘s a disgrace, however it’s laborious to be disillusioned with 62.”
Regardless of his personal good spherical, Scott discovered himself two photographs again of chief Denny McCarthy, who had 10 birdies, one lower than Scott, however no bogeys in a 10-under spherical of 60.
With birdies galore, Rory McIlroy supplied a spotlight of his personal, carding his first hole-in-one on the PGA Tour with an ace on the eighth gap as he shot a two-under 68.
“As hole-in ones go, I’ve had them previously the place it has been like an OK shot and also you get a bit of fortunate. That was the perfect shot of the day that I hit,” he mentioned.
“Clearly, a bonus for it to go within the gap, however it was actually cool. I performed fairly averagely up till that time. Felt like that hole-in-one obtained me going a bit of bit. Birdied the subsequent couple holes after that and form of obtained me into the match a bit.”
McIlroy mentioned he didn’t even preserve the ball after his spherical.
“Threw it away,” he mentioned.
“I’m not sentimental. I don’t care. I’d reasonably have trophies than golf balls.”