Frankie Capan III wrote his name into the history books with a breathtaking 13-under-par round of 58 in the first round of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Veritex Bank Championship.
The electric round at the Texas Rangers Golf Club included seven consecutive birdies on the back nine and saw him break Scottie Scheffler's previous course record of 59 which the current World No. 1 shot in 2020.
The 13-under-par 58 equals the lowest under-par round on the Korn Ferry Tour, although the American fell one short of equalling the lowest round ever in the Tour's history, set by Chile's Cristobal Del Solar who shot a 57 earlier in the year.
“It was a lot of fun out there – after the first four, five holes, I just felt really comfortable with my game and where I was at," Capan III said after the round.
"I’ve been putting a lot of work in the last few weeks and really the last few months just trying to dial a few things in. I think it all kind of came together, which was nice today.
"Whenever you’re out there playing well and going low, I really just wanted to keep going as much as I could. I know this course might be gettable the next few days, so just tried to get as many as I could."
The American, who entered the week in impressive form after back-to-back top-ten finishes, pared the opening hole before making five consecutive birdies to move to five-under-par after six holes.
A run of three consecutive pars was stopped emphatically with an eagle on the ninth hole, a 336-yard drive coupled with a superb approach leaving him just under seven feet for the eagle three to card a front-nine 29.
58 in the Lonestar State 🤠@FrankieCapan becomes the second player to record a 58 in competition on the #KornFerryTour in Round 1 @VBChampionship pic.twitter.com/HWgxc26bIoApril 25, 2024
Making the turn, the 24-year-old went on a blistering run of seven straight birdies to leave him on -13 with two holes remaining. After a par on the par-4 17th, Capan III headed to the par-5 18th with the chance to make an eagle to shoot a record-breaking 56.
However, having found a fairway bunker off the tee, Capan III was forced to lay up and eventually settled for another par to card a back-nine 29 and a round of 58.
The superb round marks the sixth sub-60 round on the Korn Ferry Tour in the last 12 months and the second since Del Solar's record-breaking 57 in February.
Playing in the morning wave of the first round, Capan III currently holds a three-shot lead over Trent Phillips who shot a 10-under-par 61. The American was ranked 30th in the season-long points list heading into the week, with the top 30 earning PGA Tour cards for the subsequent season.
