The first 62 in Open Championship history was a seminal moment in golf, but the author of the second 62 walked off the 18th green “absolutely disappointed, but proud.”

Lucas Herbert came within a burned edge of shooting the first 61 in any major when his par putt for a nine-under 61 at Royal Birkdale turned left of the cup at the 18th hole.

“I’m absolutely disappointed, and at the same time, so proud of today,” the Australian said after shooting the sixth 62 in majors, but only the second at the British Open. “Very, very proud to put my name on that list of guys that have shot 62 in a major.”

In terms of the links major, that list grew from two to three within minutes, an astonishing twist after the Open Championship waited 157 years between the inaugural playing and its 2017 edition to see the first 62—South African Branden Grace reaching the number in the third round at Royal Birkdale. Herbert joined the club on Friday, then Sam Burns delivered the third 62 only 22 minutes—and two groups—after Herbert.

It was a wild morning at Royal Birkdale.

“I just saw the list before of guys who have shot 62, and it sounds like we just added another one to it out there with Sam as well,” said Herbert, who held the clubhouse lead at eight under par as the afternoon wave played. “That’s a really cool list to be a part of. Even that whole back nine today, it was not lost on me the amount of history in major championships and the opportunity I had to obviously break the record, but then to tie it as well is still something I’m really proud of.”

Herbert, who has won on every major tour in the world, including LIV, started the 154th Open with an even-par 70 before beginning his second round with three consecutive birdies. Shooting a historic score entered his mind right then and there.

“I’m too much of an optimist, and I thought [about] it [61] when I hit it to about five feet on the third hole,” Herbert said. “Now, it’s a long way away from obviously taking three birdies to start your round into shooting a 61 or 62, but yeah, unfortunately that thought popped into my head pretty early in the round. I did a really nice job of kind of letting that sit there without giving it too much attention. So it was a bit of fun for the rest of the day.”

Herbert added three more birdies for a front-nine score of 28, equalling Denis Durnian’s record nine-hole score at the 1983 Open, also held at Royal Birkdale.

The 30-year-old made another two birdies on the 11th and 12th to move to the top of the leaderboard at eight under, before another birdie at 16. He needed two closing pars at the par-5 17th and par-4 18th to shoot golf’s first 61 in majors, only to finish par-bogey.

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Herbert obliterated his drive at the tricky 17th and had 225 yards in, but pulled his second shot left and failed to get up and down for birdie. At the 18th, he took free relief from a fence for his approach, which finished just short of the green. From 51 feet, Herbert left his birdie putt five feet short and missed the par putt to the left.

“I was obviously super disappointed, but I was disappointed in the result, not what I did. I actually hit a lot of really, really good shots today, and that’s kind of what I’m hanging my hat on. It’s a pretty good problem to have, too, to be disappointed you shot 62.”

For now, Herbert, whose seven career wins include the DP World Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic and Irish Open, the PGA Tour’s Bermuda Championship and LIV Golf Virginia in May, must recalibrate.

Herbert’s record across 18 previous major starts is modest, with only two top-15 results—both coming in 2022 in the Open at St Andrews and the PGA Championship at Southern Hills. He had played in only three majors over the last three years.

Herbert said it would take every hour until his late Saturday afternoon tee time to regroup.

“Luckily, I’ve probably got 24 hours until I tee off,” he said. “I’ll go get some lunch, do some gym, go home and chill out with my family. I think, by the time we wake up tomorrow morning, your focus will be back on the right stuff. I think the next 48 hours are definitely going to be stressful.

“There’s plenty of anxiety and whatnot with the position that I’m in, what that comes with, but I didn’t enter this tournament to not experience those feelings. So I’m kind of looking forward to it.”

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Main Image: Warren Little