Contextualizing Shane Lowry’s 62 at the PGA Championship

On one of the most scorable Saturdays in PGA Championship history, Shane Lowry fired a 62 (-9), tying the lowest round ever in a major championship and vaulting himself into contention. Lowry’s round marks just the fifth 62 shot in the history of major championship golf.

People who don’t follow professional golf closely might assume that the five 62s shot in major championship history span decades. Au contraire. The five 62s have all been recorded since Branden Grace shot 62 in the 2017 Open Championship. Four of the 62s have come in the last 12 months, and two of them have been shot in this week’s tournament. These days, historical records seem to get challenged just about every week in professional golf.

Sports change over time. If you look up the 10 NFL quarterbacks with the most passing yards in a season, all ten seasons have taken place since 2011. Athletes evolve, and so does the way every sport is played. Expecting record books to provide an apples-to-apples comparison of skill across decades is unrealistic and probably not a goal for which we should strive. However, it is essential for the governing bodies in every professional sport to implement rules that preserve both the integrity of the game and the history of the sport. Otherwise, not only are the data points entered into the record books corrupted, but the gameplay itself suffers. In professional golf, we’re well past that point.

Opponents will counter that the golf course conditions made today’s round at Valhalla so easy and scorable, not modern technology. Like Justin Thomas said after his Friday round, “It just doesn’t matter what golf course you put us on, on planet Earth; if the greens are soft we’re going to tear it up. It just doesn’t have anything to defend itself.” At the same time, rain didn’t fall from the sky for the first time in 2017. This wasn’t the first round ever played in soft, calm conditions. And Valhalla, like many other golf courses worldwide, has been stretched and lengthened to provide a stiff challenge for the modern golfer even on calm, scorable days like today, right?

The golf ball has never traveled farther, and the size of driver heads has never made it easier for the best athletes in the world to swing at high speeds without fear of consequence. You cannot legislate against physical fitness, but this week is yet another example of why professional golf needs to rein in the distances modern golfers hit the ball. Records are being shattered, golf courses are becoming lengthier and costlier, the number of courses capable of hosting a major championship continues to dwindle, and crucially, the style of play at the highest level is less compelling.

On Saturday afternoon, Shane Lowry holed 161 feet of putts and played a truly impressive round of golf. Let’s recognize it for what it is: both a tremendous accomplishment in his career and yet another clear signal that when professional golf fails to put sensible equipment regulations in place, the integrity of the sport is threatened.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. For more coverage of the PGA Championship, visit our PGA hub here.