Best of 2017: Rounds

Coming off his Tournament of Champions win, Thomas might have been expected to get off to a slow start, but he blew up that theory by shooting 59 in his opening round, which he started and finished with eagles. On Sunday he birdied the final hole to shoot 27-under 253, the lowest 72-hole score in PGA Tour history, and win by seven.

The annual stop in the Palm Springs, Calif., area was the site of the third 59 in PGA Tour history when David Duval accomplished the feat in the final round of the 1999 Bob Hope Classic. Eighteen years later Hadwin authored the Tour’s ninth sub-60 round, willing in a 3-foot par-saving putt on the final hole of the third round. Hadwin became only the fourth player to shoot 59 on a par-72 course (La Quinta Country Club).

The good news for Sergio Garcia? He was in the final pairing alongside a familiar face, Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose. The bad news? Garcia was 0-for-73 in majors. But this Sunday would be different, as the Spaniard matched Rose’s 69, necessitating a sudden-death playoff, which Garcia won with a birdie on the first extra hole to capture his first major.

As a native Georgian and alumnus of the University of Georgia, Russell Henley annually looks forward to playing in the Masters. But in 2017 he had not qualified for the year’s first major, and his only chance to get in the field was to win the Shell Houston Open. That’s precisely what he did, coming from four shots back after 54 holes to shoot 65 (including 10 birdies!) and win by three.

When Thomas shot 63 in the third round at Erin Hills, it was the 31st round of 63 or better in a men’s major. But measured another way, it stood alone. Thomas set the record for lowest score in relation to par - 9 under - in a U.S. Open round. Thomas capped his round (in which he actually made a bogey) with an 8-foot eagle putt after reaching the green on the 667-yard 18th hole in two.

Koepka’s 5-under 67 in the final round matched his first-round score at Erin Hills, but it had the added distinction of being exactly what he needed to break Rory McIlroy’s 2011 record for lowest score in relation to par at a U.S. Open. “That’s about the best I’ve ever played,” Koepka said of the round that gave him a four-stroke victory and his first major title.

No man had ever shot 62 in a major championship - that is, until South Africa’s Branden Grace did it in The Open at Royal Birkdale. Grace shot 29 on the front and 33 on the back - including a par save of about 5 feet on the final hole - for his 8-under 62. He claimed he did not know that he was closing in on a record score. When his caddie, Zack Rasego, informed him, Grace’s response was, “What are you talking about?”

Beginning the day with a three-shot lead over Matt Kuchar, Spieth struggled on the front nine, shooting 67 and falling into a tie with Kuchar at the turn. Still tied going to the 13th tee, Spieth uncorked his worst drive of the tournament. He played his third shot - after taking an unplayable lie - from the driving range and eventually made an all-world bogey. That dropped him a shot out of the lead, but it also seemed to galvanize him. He birdied the par-3 14th after hitting his tee shot stiff. He eagled 15 by holing a cross-country putt. He dropped another bomb on 16 for another birdie, and added a final circle at the par-5 17th. He and Kuchar both shot 1-under 69, but for Spieth it was good enough for the win.

For a stretch in late 2016 and early 2017, Matsuyama was the hottest golfer in the world, winning four times and finishing runner-up the other two in a six-event stretch. But he saved his best for this past August, winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational with an emphatic 61 in the final round. Matsuyama knew 61 was the record at Firestone Country Club’s South Course - he had played with Tiger Woods in 2013 when Woods posted a 61 there - and Matsuyama knew he needed to finish birdie-birdie-birdie to equal the mark. He left himself three putts under 10 feet, making all three and winning by a whopping five shots.

Johnson’s five-stroke win over Scott Brown and Thomas Pieters allowed DJ to join Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players in PGA Tour history to win a title in each of their first 10 seasons. It also elevated Johnson to No. 1 in the world. For DJ, the key round was the third, when he shot a 64 on Moving Day.

Critics may denigrate Fowler’s 61 as coming in the “Silly Season,” but the fact of the matter is, it earned him a win and was the best round of the day by six - count ‘em, six - shots. And oh, yes, the field included eight of the world’s top 10 players.

There were dozens of rounds on the PGA Tour in 2017 that were lower scores than Woods’ 68 in the Bahamas, but none created the buzz that Woods’ effort did. In his long-awaited return to the PGA Tour, the 68 followed his opening 69 and left him in fifth place midway throuh the event. Could he keep up his good play and win, something he hadn’t done since 2013? A third-round 75 ultimately derailed him, but he bounced back with a closing 68 and rekindled speculation about his future all over again.