Three straight birdies on the first nine, 5 under through five holes on the last nine.
The execution was solid, the result was historic for Chris Francoeur at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Utah Championship on Friday.
Francoeur, who ranked 120th on the KFT Points List entering the week at Ogden Golf & Country Club, carded the first sub-60 of the tour’s 2026 season during his second round where he had multiple chances to reach 58.
With four straight pars to finish his round, Francoeur’s finished 11 under on the round to become just the 16th player in Korn Ferry Tour history to shoot 59.
“Got to 10 under after the fourth, and I knew I had a few short holes coming in,” Francoeur, who started on the back nine, told Golf Channel after the round. “I was trying not to think about it was still creeping in. I just tried to stay in the moment and hit the shots, and luckily I did to get to 59.”
He was honest in his assessment of what could have been a 58 — pushed a birdie putt at No. 7, and settled for a two-putt from 50 feet at the next hole. Then the nerves took over on the final hole.
“I couldn’t feel my hands on the last hole,” he admitted.
Francoeur, a Massachusetts native who went to University of Rhode Island before his final year at Louisville, has a three-shot lead over Mason Anderson heading into the weekend in Ogden.
At 120th on the Points List, Chris Francoeur needed to get something going @UTChampionship.
— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) July 31, 2026
Boom. pic.twitter.com/3CXknGuGeu
It’s the third time in eight days where a player has recorded a 59 in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.
Michael Kim carded a 59 last Friday at the 3M Open outside of Minneapolis. That came a day after Scott Stevens signed an 11-under 59 during the first round of the Osprey Valley Open on the PGA Tour Americas.
Live second round coverage in Ogden, Utah, can be seen on Golf Channel at 6-9 p.m. ET on Friday.
