Herbert ties record for lowest round in major history with 62 in Round 2 of The Open Championship

Lucas Herbert put his name in the record books at Royal Birkdale.

The 30-year-old Ripper GC star, a winner earlier this year at LIV Golf Virginia, fired a bogey-free 6-under 28 on the front nine in Round 2 of The Open Championship — tying the best nine-hole score ever recorded at a major championship. He made the turn with six birdies and never let up, closing out an 8-under 62 that ties for the lowest 18-hole score in major championship history.

That mark is now shared by six different players on seven occasions. Royal Birkdale has produced three of those seven: Southern Guards GC’s Branden Grace in 2017, and both Herbert and Sam Burns on Friday.

Herbert will take a two-shot lead into Saturday but will have plenty of chasers, including Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau who is tied for fifth and three shots back. Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm and 4Aces GC’s Thomas Detry are tied for eighth and four shots back.

(For more on DeChambeau and the LIV Golf players who made the cut, scroll to bottom of story)

Herbert wasn't thinking about history when the round started.

"I don't play a schedule that is four majors a year consistently anyway, so the opportunities I do get to play majors, you get an opportunity to get off to a hot start on a golf course that's a par 70," Herbert said. "Not that I wanted the thoughts to come into my head, but it was honestly when it came in — so it was a bit of fun for the rest of the day just trying to acknowledge the fact that there was a chance but just to try to continue to go about what I was doing normally and naturally as best I could."

Told that Ben Hogan's pursuit of the U.S. Open scoring record in 1966 got so far into Arnold Palmer's head it derailed his round entirely, Herbert shrugged it off. "I don't know that it got tougher necessarily,” he said. “I mean, the first 12 holes, I might not play 12 better than I did."

The round's signature moment came at the treacherous par-3 16th, with a raucous Birkdale crowd fully aware of what was building even if nobody said it out loud.

"There was a lot of noise going on about — not that anyone said anything. There's nothing from the crowd, no one vocalized it, but everyone knows what's going on, the score you're at, the opportunity you've got," Herbert said. "To make that putt on 16 was pretty crucial."

The putt kept him firmly in position to make a run at outright history. On the par-5 18th, needing only a par to card the first 61 in major championship history, Herbert's putt slid just off line.

"I thought it was kind of left side of the hole,” he said. “I thought the wind was off the left a little as well, which might push it. It just kind of jagged a little left early on me and never came back. I didn't hit a bad putt, I just missed it."

The bogey dropped him to 62 — still a share of the record, still one of the best rounds ever played in a major.

Herbert hit 50% of his fairways and 77.8% of greens in regulation on the day. It's the continuation of a breakout year for the Australian, who claimed his first LIV Golf individual title at LIV Golf Virginia and has quietly built one of the most well-traveled resumes in the game, with wins on six different tours across six countries and continents — the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour, Australasian Tour, and now LIV Golf, with seven career victories overall.

For a player whose previous best Open round was a 67 at St Andrews in 2022 - coincidentally on the same day his Ripper GC teammate Cameron Smith lifted the Claret Jug - and whose best finish across 18 prior major starts is a T13 at the 2022 PGA Championship (with a best Open finish of T15, also in 2022), Friday was a career-altering day.

Herbert now finds himself squarely inside the conversation for a first major championship, and he made clear afterward that the moment hasn't been lost on him.

"I've thought about it," he said of one day winning the Open. "It's every kid's dream, though it hasn't always felt like a realistic sort of possibility. Dreams of winning The Open Championship are real, and I'm in a great position to do that through two rounds. There's still a lot of golf to go, and a lot of work to do."

Herbert will take his share of the record, and a legitimate shot at the Claret Jug, into the weekend.

ROUND 2 RECAP

Bryson DeChambeau is always box office, and there's no denying he keeps things interesting no matter what.

The Crushers GC captain followed his opening 3-under 67 with what appeared to be a 4-under 66 in the second round at Royal Birkdale, a performance that had him positioned in the final group for Moving Day at 7 under and just one shot off Lucas Herbert's lead. It capped a run in which DeChambeau, who entered the week having missed the cut in three straight majors, has now avoided a fourth. The round included a stellar up-and-down for birdie at the treacherous 17th and a closing birdie at 18 that briefly had Royal Birkdale roaring.

Then came the wrinkle.

Officials flagged a potential infraction from earlier in the round at the par-4 fifth hole, and after review, DeChambeau was assessed a two-shot penalty.

His score was adjusted from 66 to 68, dropping his tournament total from 7 under to 5 under. He enters Saturday tied for fifth and three shots off the lead.

It's a strange footnote to what has otherwise been one of the best ball-striking weeks of DeChambeau's Open Championship career, and it does nothing to change the bigger picture: he heads into the weekend firmly in the mix and playing arguably the best golf of anyone not named Herbert.

Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm had his own eventful Friday. After making the turn at even par with two birdies, two pars and two bogeys, his round nearly boiled over at the par-3 15th, where a poor tee shot led to a club thrown hard into the turf and an on-course warning from R&A officials.

Rahm was candid about it afterward, taking ownership of the club throw.

"I don't always love the word 'emotional,' “ Rahm said. “I'm definitely more intense and passionate than a lot of the players out here, especially at work. I wasn't thinking about it. It's not like I'm going to try to alter who I am too much ... But certainly shouldn't have moments like the one on 15; I get it."

Rahm responded by making a birdie on 16 to steady the ship and then playing his final stretch about as well as a player can.

"The last three holes I hit it beautifully. All three fairways, three chances at birdie and one for eagle," Rahm said. "It was a really beautiful finish."

The 67 leaves him at 4-under and inside the top 10 for the championship, squarely in the mix as he continues chasing his first Claret Jug.

Legion XIII star Tyrrell Hatton posted a second straight round in the 60s, a 2-under 68 that has him at 3-under and inside the top 20, a marked improvement in mood from a first round in which he left frustrated despite the score.

4Aces GC’s Thomas Detry and Cleeks Golf Club’s Victor Perez both continued their strong play and are near the top of the leaderboard. Detry shot a 1-under 69 to get in the clubhouse at 4 under and tied for eighth.

Perez also shot 1-under 69, reeling off back-to-back birdies at the 11th and 12th to end the day in a tie for 17th at 3 under. Between the two of them, Rahm and Hatton, and DeChambeau near the top, LIV Golf now has six players inside the top 20 through two rounds at Royal Birkdale — one of the strongest collective showings the league has produced at a major.

The rest of the group had a mixed Friday, but there were still plenty of positives. Majesticks Golf Club’s Laurie Canter ground out an even-par 36-hole total, rallying from a scrappy start with birdies at 14, 16 and 17 to steady his week.

RangeGoats GC’s Peter Uihlein had one of the better afternoon rounds of the day, a 2-under 68 pushing him to 1 over, while Jose Luis Ballester matched that number with an even-par 70 after an electrifying finish that saw the young Fireballs GC star make eagle on 17 and birdie on 18 to sneak through the cutline.

Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith, who switched to a mallet putter this week, will end his week at 2 over after a second-round 69, missing the cut by one shot. Legion XIII’s Tom McKibbin is alongside him at 2 over, also missing the cut, after consecutive 71s. Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann's week likewise ends at 4 over despite a strong 68 in the afternoon, while Legion XIII’s Caleb Surratt (7-over) and Scott Vincent (8-over) also see their tournaments come to a close. Fireballs GC’s David Puig closed out at 11 over after rounds of 74 and 77.

Herbert's name may be at the top of the leaderboard, but LIV Golf's presence at Royal Birkdale runs deep through the whole field — and with DeChambeau, Rahm, Hatton, Detry and Perez all within shouting distance, Moving Day has plenty of storylines still to write.