Scottie Scheffler shot the 12th 59 in the history of the PGA Tour on Friday at TPC Boston in Round 2 of The Northern Trust after going out in 30 and making birdie at four of his last five to come home in 29. Scheffler took the tournament lead at 13 under at the time he finished up in the Friday morning wave.
Scheffler's round was relentless in every way. He led the field in strokes gained on approach shots, strokes gained putting and strokes gained tee to green en route to the magic number. He gained nearly 10 strokes on the field during a day when scoring was already low. Forget the 59, anytime you're flirting with double-digit strokes gained in a field like this, you've caught absolute fire and are having one of the great rounds in any given season.
He also closed like a champ. With five holes to go, he was having a terrific round that led him to contention, but then he made it historic with some unreal approach shots down the stretch. I caught wind of potentially something special after I saw him birdie the 14th. Thus began a run of playing the last five in 4 under. In addition to hitting eight of nine greens on the back nine, Scheffler had seven (!) looks at birdie from 15 feet and in -- including four of his last five (he made all four of them) capped by a knee-knocking 5-footer at the last (in which he two-putted from 80 feet).
"You don't ever really get too many opportunities to shoot a 59 so to be able to finish the job is really cool," said Scheffler. "I definitely was nervous, very nervous over both those shots and coming down the stretch, but I think it helped me focus a little bit more."
Impressive round from the rookie.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 21, 2020
Scottie Scheffler becomes the second-youngest player to break 60 on TOUR.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/eAKWoHxfDo
On the day, Scheffler had 13 one-putts but only made one putt over 14 feet. This is how it goes when you're both smoking with the flat stick and hitting everything you look at within birdie distance. It was, as most 59s are, the perfect round.
Scottie Scheffler: 59 (-12); 12th sub-60 round in @PGATOUR history. Nine of them have come since 2010; six since 2016.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) August 21, 2020
The 59 is the first of Scheffler's pro career and the first on the PGA Tour since Kevin Chappell did it a year ago at A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier; however, it's the ninth in the last 11 years.
Below is a look at the 11 golfers who have cracked the 60 mark in PGA Tour history, including one (Jim Furyk) who has somehow done it twice.
| Golfer | Score | Round | Tournament | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | 59 | 2 | The Northern Trust | 2020 |
| Kevin Chappell | 59 | 2 | A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier | 2019 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 59 | 1 | Wyndham Championship | 2018 |
| Adam Hadwin | 59 | 3 | The American Express | 2017 |
| Justin Thomas | 59 | 1 | Sony Open | 2017 |
| Jim Furyk | 58 | 4 | Travelers Championship | 2016 |
| Jim Furyk | 59 | 2 | BMW Championship | 2013 |
| Stuart Appleby | 59 | 4 | Greenbrier Classic | 2010 |
| Paul Goydos | 59 | 1 | John Deere Classic | 2010 |
| David Duval | 59 | 4 | CareerBuilder Challenge | 1999 |
| Chip Beck | 59 | 3 | Shriners Hospitals for Children Open | 1991 |
| Al Geiberger | 59 | 2 | St. Jude Classic | 1977 |
The golf for Scheffler has been excellent of late. He contended until the end a few weeks ago at the PGA Championship and has three straight top 25s, all at big-boy events. Scheffler came into these FedEx Cup Playoffs sitting at No. 24 in the FedEx Cup standings and stands to jump into the top 10 or top five with a good finish over the next two days.
The obvious question now is whether he can seal the deal on his first-ever PGA Tour win here at TPC Boston. Only three of the previous six players who shot 59 in either Round 1 or Round 2 went on to win the golf tournament, and Scheffler has a long way to go with plenty of big-name chasers. But for one day anyway, he could not possibly have been more perfect. Plenty of golfers win tournaments on the PGA Tour -- and Scheffler will do that at some point -- but only 11 have taken fewer than 60 strokes in a single round, and Scheffler can now add his name to that exclusive list.
