It’s one of the few sports in the world where lower scores are better, but what is the lowest golf score ever?
While there are many different variables and caveats to what scores count in official records, we’ve broken down some of the lowest scores ever recorded in golf.
Lowest score ever recorded in a golf tournament
In men’s major championships, 62 is the lowest score ever officially recorded in golf. Branden Grace hit 62 at the 2017 Open Championship, while Richie Fowler and Xander Schauffele hit the same score at the 2023 US Open.
Main Date Course for Players
Branden Grace
The open championship
07/22/17
Royal Birkdale
Ricky Fowler
US Open
06/15/23
Los Angeles Country Club
Xander Schäuffele
US Open
06/15/23
Los Angeles Country Club
In major women’s tournaments, the lowest round ever reached is 61. The record is jointly held by Leona Maguire, Lee Jeong-eun and Kim Hyo-joo. All three reached their records at the Evian Championship.
Main Date Course for Players
Kim Hyo Joo
Évian Championship
09/11/14
Evian Resort Golf Club
Lee Jeong Eun
Évian Championship
07/23/21
Evian Resort Golf Club
Leona Maguire
Évian Championship
07/25/21
Evian Resort Golf Club
But the lowest documented score in competitive golf is even lower. While they are not in a major championship, several men have reached 57 in competitive play.
Bobby Wyatt did it at the 2010 Alabama Boys Junior Championship, and Alex Ross did the same at the 2019 Dogwood Invitational.
Ross’s round at Druid Hills Golf Club was 15 under par, including 13 birdies and an eagle.
As for the lowest PGA score, Jim Furyk shot a round of 58 on August 7, 2016. During the final round of the Travelers Championship at TCP River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, Furyk set the new PGA Tour record.
His was the seventh sub-60 round in PGA Tour history.
Lowest golf score in history
The lowest officially recorded round of golf is 55, played by Australian golfer Rhein Gibson at River Oaks Golf Club in Oklahoma. Gibson had 12 birdies and two eagles on the par-71 course on May 12, 2012.
This round is recognized by Guinness World Records as the lowest golf score ever made. Several other 55-stroke rounds have been documented, but are usually discounted due to the length of the round or the nature of the round.
Another was added on August 27, 2020 when Alexander Hughes shot 55 in Jenks, Oklahoma, less than 100 miles from where Gibson set the official record.
Golf’s most famous name, Tiger Woods, had his lowest score in 1997. With a score of 59, Woods hit his record-breaking round at his home course in Isleworth, Florida, just a week before his first Masters victory in Augusta National.
