Will a 57 ever be shot on the PGA Tour?
At the recent Baycurrent Classic in Japan, a PGA Tour event, Matt McCarty stood on the final tee needing a birdie to shoot 58.
A par for a 59 would still have been a magic moment for the left-hander.
But after eight straight birdies, the golf gods hit back. McCarty blocked his tee-shot way left and had to re-load from the tee.
He actually made birdie with his second ball but the bogey-5 meant the American had to settle for a 60.
But McCarty’s burst of scoring still sparked plenty of conversation.
Had he made birdie, the 27-year-old’s incredible 58 would have tied Jim Furyk for the lowest round in PGA Tour history.
Some even pointed to a different outcome.
If McCarty had found the fairway with his initial drive and holed out with his wedge – something he wasn’t far off doing with his second ball – he would have carded a 57!
So is that extraordinary number actually achievable?
With so many birdie-fests on the PGA Tour and balls flying further, super-low numbers are within range more and more.
So far in 2025 we’ve had a 59 from Jake Knapp and 60s from McCarty, Kurt Kitayama and Adam Svensson.
In 2024 there were two 59s: one by US Ryder Cup star Cam Young and the other by Hayden Springer. There were also seven 60s.
Okay, these are amazing numbers but can the boundaries really be pushed further?
Supporting evidence is provided from tours across the globe.
Bryson DeChambau made headlines and generated clicks galore on his socials when blasting a 58 at LIV Golf Greenbrier in 2023.
Two years earlier, Korea’s S.H. Kim signed for a 58 on the Japan Tour while local Ryo Ishikawa also fired 58 in another Japanese Tour event way back in 2010.
Returning to American shores and Frankie Capan III (2024) and Stephan Jaeger (2016) have also joined the ‘58’ club on the Korn Ferry (formerly Web.com) Tour.
Spaniard Alejandro del Rey shot that same number – on a par 72! – on the Challenge Tour.
But check out the Korn Ferry all-time lists and, yes, there it is: a 57!
That hard-to-comprehend round was fired by Chile’s Cristobal del Solar in the Astara Golf Championship in 2024.
Not surprisingly, it earned him the nickname “Mr 57”.
So maybe it’s just a matter of time before he has to share that nickname with a PGA Tour star.
Could it happen this year?
There are four events left – the Bank of Utah Championship, the World Wide Technology Championship, the Bermuda Championship and the RSM Classic.
The lowest rounds in those events?
60 – Adam Svensson (Bank of Utah)
61 – Roland Thatcher, Viktor Hovland (World Wide Technology)
61 – Taylor Pendrith (Bermuda Championship)
60 – Sebastian Munoz (RSM Classic)
A 57 or even a sub-60 looks optimistic but who can say?
And, if not this year, what about next?
McCarty’s round at the Baycurrent was something special and a reminder that if these guys get on a roll – the lefty is not even in the world’s top 50 – scores that seem mindblowing to the amateur are within reach.
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