With Two 59's in Back-to-Back Weeks on the PGA Tour, are They Becoming Less Special?

In the last two weeks we’ve seen two 59’s on the PGA Tour increasing the total sub-60 scores in the history of the Tour to nine shot by eight different players.

On Saturday at the CareerBuilder Challenge, Canadian Adam Hadwin turned in the eighth 59 and became only the fourth to do so on a par-72 course. While any sub-60 round is impressive, Hadwin’s is in an elite class. From 1977 to 1991 Al Geiberger held the only 59 on Tour which he set on a par-72 course at Colonial Country Club in Memphis, Tennessee. Chip Beck became the second player to shoot 59 in 1991 at the Las Vegas Invitational on a par-72 course and David Duval became the third in 1999 at the Bob Hope Classic on the par-72 PGA West course.

Since Duval’s 59 in ’99, no player had carded a 59 on a par-72 course until Hadwin did so with 13 birdies, which tied Chip Beck’s record of most birdies in a round, last Saturday.

Now, in the time since Duval’s 59 in ’99, there have been six more sub-sixty rounds.

– Paul Goydos shot 59 at the John Deere Classic on the par-71 TPC Deere Run in 2010.

– Stuart Appleby shot 59 at the Greenbrier Classic on the par-70 Old White course in 2010.

– Jim Furyk shot 59 at the 2013 BMW Championship on the par-71 Conway Golf Farms course and then became the only player to shoot 58 on the PGA Tour when he did so during the final round of the Travelers Championship in 2015 on the par-71 TPC River Highlands.

– Justin Thomas carded a 59 on his way to a win at the Sony Open on the par-70 Waialae course just over a week ago.

– Now Hadwin has carded the sixth.

Prior to Furyk’s 58 it had been two years since anyone had broken 60, but just five months later it has been accomplished twice and in back-to-back weeks.

It is hard to know whether or not we will see another sub-60 round this season, but the way things are going we may see several. Would that make breaking the 60 mark less impressive? I don’t think so, but it does take a little bit of the luster off of the accomplishment.

I don’t expect there to a be another 59 set this week at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, but if it does happen we should all probably start focusing on who will card the next 58 and when will someone finally break Johnny Miller’s lowest round in a major championship of 63 that he set in 1973 at the U.S. Open at Oakmont.