LOS ANGELES — There have been six golfers to shoot a 63 in the U.S. Open. In the 123rd rendition of the national championship, Rickie Fowler one-upped them all.
Teeing off at 8:02 a.m. local time alongside Justin Rose and Jason Day, who each ended their victory droughts earlier this year, Fowler birdied his first (the 10th hole) to get things going. He made the turn in 32 and the promptly birdied Nos. 1, 2 and 3 to get to 6 under. Another birdie on No. 6 got him to 7 under and put him on track for a 63.
Fowler, who didn’t qualify for the last two U.S. Opens, got into some trouble on the 537-yard par-5 8th, sending his tee shot into a barranca down the right side. No problem. Fowler got it back on the fairway, hit his third to about 25 feet then drained a bending birdie putt to to get 8 under.
When you're hot, you're hot 🔥
10 birdies today for @RickieFowler and he is alone at -8. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/5oJlbWK6NV
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 15, 2023
Facing a long birdie putt on the par-3 9th, his final hole of the day, he needed a two-putt from 57 feet for a 62 and he got it.
“I knew there was birdies to be made out here, but you have to drive it well and get the ball in position first. Yeah, did that, and from there just managed our way around really well,” he said.
It’s the first 62 ever in the U.S. Open and just the second in major championship history. Brendan Grace had a 62 in the 2017 Open Championship. About 20 minutes later, Xander Schauffele joined the 62 Club when he parred the 9th hole to cap an 8-under round.
NBC Sports reports that in 66,448 rounds in all four majors (since 1983) prior to Thursday, Grace had the only 62. Now there are three of them.
Fowler was 8 under Thursday. Johnny Miller shot an 8-under 63 in the final round at Oakmont 50 years ago to the day. Justin Thomas’s 63 in 2017 at Erin Hills was a 9-under round.
Fowler hasn’t won since the 2019 WM Phoenix Open. This season, he’s posted eight top-10s in his last nine starts, with a missed cut at the PGA Championship the lone blemish during that run.
After his round he noted that he wasn’t feeling comfortable with his swing or putting earlier in the week but something clicked Wednesday.
“He’s been trending in the right direction,” said Fowler’s caddie Ricky Romano said. “It just all came together today.”
Fowler is 11th in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings; he’s 45th in the Official World Golf Ranking but it just last September when he sunk to No. 185 in the OWGR, his worst ranking in more than 12 years. Fowler had a stretch of 60 events with just four top-10s. He had 10 more missed cuts (24) than he had top-25 finishes.
But things have turned around and heading into LACC this week, Fowler has posted 12 top-25 finishes and just two missed cuts in 17 starts.
“It’s definitely been long and tough,” Fowler said. “A lot longer being in that situation than you’d ever want to. But it makes it so worth it having gone through that and being back where we are now.”
But he knows it’s only 18 holes of a 72-hole tournament.
“There’s still plenty of golf to be played,” he said. “It’s going to be tough tomorrow [Friday] afternoon. But at least got out of the gate and we’re off to, like I said, a good start.”
Tom D’Angelo from the Palm Beach Post contributed to this article.
