Hayden Springer joins a rare group.
The 27-year-old golfer shot a 12-under 59 on Thursday at the John Deere Classic in Illinois, becoming just the 14th player in PGA Tour history to shoot a round under 60.
He fell one stroke shy of the PGA Tour record with a shot of 59, tying 13 other players for the record. According to ESPN:He was leading by two strokes going into Friday’s match.
“I’m at a loss for words about being able to do it,” Springer told ESPN. “I think it’s one of those rare things in golf, so to have the opportunity and be able to do it feels pretty special.”
According to ESPN, the TCU graduate had missed the cut in his previous five PGA Tour appearances, so this run seemed to come out of nowhere.
Springer made an eagle on the second hole and finished the first nine holes in 27, eight strokes above par, to set the tone for the day.
He added six birdies during that time.
A birdie on the sixth hole gave him an early inkling that this might be a special day.
“I was like, ‘OK, I feel like I’m not going to miss today. I’m going to make just about every putt I can think of,'” Springer told ESPN. “So maybe that putt going in was the catalyst for me to think, ‘OK, maybe I can hit it super low.'”
The Nashville native finished strong, scoring pars on the first five holes on the back nine, followed by an eagle on the 17th hole and a birdie on the final hole.
His 59 reportedly tied the course record at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, previously set by Paul Goydos in 2010.
Springer also became just the second player in recent history to shoot 59, joining Cameron Young, who recorded the score at the Travelers Championship on June 22.
His historic round portended a possible tournament win, with ESPN reporting that two of the last three golfers to post that score in the opening round ended up winning the tournament.
But FanDuel has him ranked second with +850 odds heading into Friday’s tournament, behind Davis Thompson (+800), who sits four strokes behind.
Springer tees off at 2:55 p.m. ET on Friday and will be hoping to extend his lead heading into the weekend.
The historic moment comes after a difficult period for Springer and his family.
According to ESPN, he and his wife Emma’s daughter, Sage, was diagnosed with trisomy 18 in 2021, a condition in which a baby has three copies of chromosome 18 instead of two.
Sage passed away on November 13th last year at the age of three. According to the PGA Tour.
“I don’t know if it gives me any inner strength, but it definitely tests me and I have to find a way to get through it and keep going,” Springer told ESPN. “A lot of it is just our faith and leaning into it and knowing that we’re safe in it.”
“There have been some challenges,” he told the outlet, “but at the end of the day, I want to compete and I love competing.”
