Hiroshi Iwata scorches Whistling Straits for record-tying 63
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — Hiroshi Iwata on Friday improved 14 shots over his opening round of the PGA Championship, shooting the 27th 63 in men’s major championship history – the lowest score ever recorded in major men’s competition.
Iwata made eight birdies, an eagle and a bogey to shoot the 9-under score, going from 5-over after Day 1 to a 36-hole total of 4-under 140 heading into the weekend at Whistling Straits. Iwata currently sits three strokes back of clubhouse leader David Lingmerth, who’s at 7-under.
The world No. 102 in the world had a chance on the 18th hole to become the first player to shoot 62 in a men’s major championship. His second shot to the par-4, 520-yard finishing hole came up some 20 yards short of the green to the right, leaving a tricky pitch shot over bunkers to a tight hole location. The pitch landed in the rough, bounding onto the green and sliding by the hole just inches on the left, setting up a straightforward par putt for a piece of golf history.
Earlier this season, Iwata shot a record-setting 62 in the OneAsia Tour’s Thailand Open. Asked how that round compares to this one, Iwata joked, “Just one shot different.”
Iwata, who to this point had never made the cut in any of his three previous major appearances, is the first player to shoot 63 in a major since Jason Dufner did in the second round of the 2013 PGA Championship, which he eventually won for his first major title. It’s also the 13th time a round of 63 has been shot in the PGA Championship, one less than the total rounds of 63 in the other three majors.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
