When Mark Hayes became the first man to shoot 63 in 1977 he took the record for a single round down from 65 which had stood since first established by Henry Cotton in the second round at St. George’s in 1934.
Progressive 18 Hole Record
Since 1892 when the Open first consisted of four rounds of 18 holes. |
| Score |
Golfer (Country) |
Course |
Year |
Round |
| 74 |
Horace Hutchinson (England) |
Muirfield |
1892 |
1 |
| 73 |
Hugh Kirkaldy (Scotland) |
Muirfield |
1892 |
3 |
| 72 |
Harold Hilton (England) |
Muirfield |
1892 |
3 |
| 71 |
James Sherlock (England) |
Royal St. George's |
1904 |
2 |
| 69 |
James Braid (Scotland) |
Royal St. George's |
1904 |
3 |
| 68 |
J. H. Taylor (England) |
Royal St. George's |
1904 |
4 |
| 67 |
Walter Hagen (USA) |
Muirfield |
1929 |
2 |
| 65 |
Henry Cotton (England) |
Royal St. George's |
1934 |
2 |
| 63 |
Mark Hayes (USA) |
Turnberry |
1977 |
2 |
| 62 |
Branden Grace (South Africa) |
Royal Birkdale |
2017 |
3 |
The first man to score under-80 in an 18-hole round was Jack Simpson (Scotland) who shot a 78 in the first round at Prestwick in 1884. |