The summer of 61 continues on the PGA Tour.
If that hasn’t been branded yet, then there’s a possible opportunity that’s waiting for the creative folks to sink their teeth into after an extraordinary flurry of low scores at recent events.
After three consecutive 61s in as many days at Detroit Golf Club last week —from Peter Malnati and Cameron Young hammering the course with early tee times before the weekend to Rasmus Hojgaard’s 9 under on Moving Day, Beau Hossler was the latest professional to turn in a super-low scoring round.
“Didn’t feel my best with the driver, but iron play was probably the best of my career today” said Hossler, who’s career-low came at Sedgefield just two years ago when he put together a first round 60 before finishing T-12.
“Missed a couple very makeable putts, but with that being said, this golf course, if you leave it five feet above the hole, it can be incredibly difficult,” he added after holing out for eagle on the par-5 15th. “So proximity’s part of the battle, but a lot of it is the leave. These greens are quite severe and fast.”
So is this 61 thing real or is it being exaggerated? No better time then to present the case that — like the Buffalo Springfield song “For What It’s Worth” — there’s something happening here.
Throw out the flamethrower that is the Rocket Classic for a moment and factor in Jackson Koivun’s 61 just a dozen days ago at TPC Twin Cities.
Of course, that wasn’t even the lowest round of the tournament — Michael Kim shot a historic 59 at the 3M, good for the lowest round of the 2026 season. 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, starting a run on 59s that concluded last week at the 2026 Utah Championship where Chris Francoeur got in on the action and carded the Korn Ferry Tour’s first sub-60 round of the year.
Another fiery course and mountain air, so what?
Proof 61 isn’t as en vogue as it may seem: Lucas Herbert missed a 5-foot putt on the 18th hole at Royal Birkdale that would have secured the first-ever 61 in major championship history.
Also, same tournament, two other calls for “61 watch” went unanswered for eventual champion Ryan Fox and Sam Burns (who went on to finish solo third).
As for 31-year-old Hossler, the Wyndham’s clubhouse leader is set to tee off Friday at 1:38 p.m. ET with Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Ben Silverman.
He’s seeking his first win on Tour, and ranks 122nd on the FedEx Cup postseason standings despite on a streak of six consecutive made cuts. Translation: He needs a win to extend his season.
“Try and win a golf tournament, that’s all there is to it,” he told reporters on Thursday, leading four others by three strokes at 6 under. “Try and do the same thing every week. Been out here for nine years and yeah, at the end of the day like that’s what we all prepare to do whether it’s the first week of the year or a week like this.
“As you know, there’s lots of players that this week’s performance does impact moving on or not or whatever,” he added. “Every week that we play out here has implications for future years. I think if you let that consume you, it’s a dangerous thing. So at the end of the day, it’s golf. I’m going to go try and play great golf and kind of see where the cards fall.”
