You could see it on his face. Lucas Herbert bent over, hands resting heavily on his knees on the 18th green at Royal Birkdale, staring at a little white ball that refused to drop. He had just missed a five-foot par putt. For most golfers, missing a par putt means dropping a shot. For Herbert, it meant missing a date with literal immortality.
He wanted a 61. No man has ever shot a 61 in a major championship. Instead, that final hiccup left him with an eight-under-par 62. It naturally ties the lowest 18-hole score in major history, but that felt like a bittersweet consolation prize in the immediate aftermath.
Honestly, it's a ridiculous problem to have. Imagine being genuinely disappointed after shooting a 62 at the British Open. But that's the absolute razor's edge of professional golf in 2026.
The Morning Royal Birkdale Went Soft
If you've ever played links golf, you know it's usually a brutal test of survival. You expect howling winds, sideways rain, and ball-eating gorse bushes. But Friday morning at Southport brought something completely different: benign, crisp, defenceless conditions. The morning wave looked at the fairways and realized the course was ripe for the taking.
Herbert, the 30-year-old Australian who plies his trade with Ripper GC on the LIV circuit, didn't just walk through the open door—he sprinted.
He opened his second round with three straight birdies. By the time he made the turn, he'd carded a bogey-free, six-under 28 on the front nine. That matched the lowest nine-hole score ever recorded in Open history, a record set right here at Birkdale by Denis Durnian back in 1983.
- Birdies on the front: 6
- Front nine score: 28
- Total score: 62 (-8)
When you're eight under through 12 holes, your brain goes to dangerous places. Herbert admitted he's a golf nerd who knew exactly what the numbers meant. He kept his head down, rolled in clutch putts on 11 and 12, and gritted out par saves on the tricky middle stretch. A birdie on the 16th pushed him to nine under for the day.
Then came the 18th hole. A pushed drive into the rough, a short approach, a decent chip, and then—the lip-out. Just like that, history stayed locked behind the door.
The Historic 62 Club
With his round, Herbert became part of an incredibly exclusive group. Here is how the history of the 62 in men's majors looks:
- Branden Grace (2017 Open Championship): The pioneer who did it first, also at Royal Birkdale.
- Rickie Fowler (2023 U.S. Open): Tore up Los Angeles Country Club.
- Xander Schauffele (2023 U.S. Open & 2024 PGA): The only guy to do it twice.
- Shane Lowry (2024 PGA): Matched Schauffele at Valhalla.
- Lucas Herbert (2026 Open Championship): Dominated the Friday morning wave.
- Sam Burns (2026 Open Championship): Shocked everyone just 22 minutes later.
The 22-Minute Twin Act
You can't write a script like this. Just as the media center was scrambling to process Herbert's historic march, Sam Burns decided to crash the party.
Burns, who wasn't even sure he'd play this week because his wife was due with their daughter, flew in late and stumbled to a 73 on Thursday. He was just trying to make the cut. But golf is a funny game.
Unlike Herbert, who felt the crushing weight of every single shot on the back nine, Burns didn't even know he was playing for history. He went on a frantic birdie-birdie-birdie tear to finish his round. He holed out from 40 feet on 16, drained a 20-footer on 17, and then splashed out of a lethal greenside pot bunker on 18 for a final, spectacular birdie.
He signed for a 62 of his own, completely unaware he’d just matched a major record until someone told him in the scorer's tent. Two 62s in the span of less than half an hour. Royal Birkdale was officially turned upside down.
Bryson DeChambeau and the Late-Night Drama
While Herbert leads the tournament at eight under par, the biggest talking point over evening pints in Southport wasn't the leader—it was Bryson DeChambeau.
DeChambeau looked to have put together a masterful four-under 66 to sit just one shot off the pace. He hit the definitive shots of the afternoon, roaring through the final holes to put himself squarely in the Saturday afternoon final pairing.
Then the R&A rules officials stepped in.
In a bizarre scene that stretched long after the final putts dropped, DeChambeau was marched back out to the fifth hole by tournament officials. Cameras captured an incredibly animated, heated discussion. The issue? Whether Bryson had inadvertently improved his lie while preparing to hit from the thick grass right of the fairway.
Ultimately, the hammer dropped. DeChambeau was hit with a brutal two-stroke penalty. His 66 became a 68, and his tournament total fell from seven under to five under. He’s still very much in the hunt, tied for fifth, but losing two shots in the scorer's room is a massive psychological gut punch before a major weekend.
What the Leaderboard Tells Us About the Weekend
The leaderboard is incredibly tight, and Herbert has a massive target on his back. He sits at eight under par, holding a slim two-shot cushion over a trio of hungry pursuers:
- Jackson Suber (-6): The overnight leader who backed up his stellar opening round with a steady 69.
- Cameron Young (-6): The Players Champion who looks incredibly dangerous on links setups.
- Ryan Gerard (-6): Lurking quietly after a pair of highly efficient 67s.
Behind them, elite ball-strikers like Scottie Scheffler (-4) and Jon Rahm (-4) are lingering right in the rearview mirror.
How to Watch Moving Day
If you want to watch the drama unfold live, here's what you need to do next.
Get your coverage sorted early because the weather forecast for Saturday suggests the benign morning conditions are gone. The wind is predicted to pick up, meaning Birkdale will likely bite back, and protecting a lead will be infinitely harder than chasing one.
Check your local broadcast listings or log into your streaming platforms ahead of the afternoon tee times. You don't want to miss the opening holes when Herbert, Young, and a penalized, highly motivated DeChambeau begin what promises to be a chaotic battle for the Claret Jug.
