A third 62 at Birkdale – Fox equals Open record

How often do the buses run at Birkdale?

You wait nine years for a round of 62 in the Open and three come along in little over 24 hours.

Early on Saturday, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox carded an eight-under-par 62 in the third round at Royal Birkdale, to match the efforts of Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns on Friday and equal the lowest round in men’s major history.

Fox, like Herbert, had the chance to shoot 61, but after finding the bunker off the tee on the 18th, left himself a 48-foot putt for a place in history.

His attempt pulled up five feet short of the hole but he knocked that in to record the eighth round of 62 in a major championship, with half of those coming at Royal Birkdale.

“I probably didn’t think about it [the record] too much until I got up and down on 14 for birdie,” he told BBC Radio 5 live.

“I got a little lucky on the last to have a shot out of the fairway bunker.

“I clipped the very top of the lip with my second shot and wasn’t quite sure how it ended up where it did, but I was happy to see it go forward.

“It was a nervy first putt, but I was happy to see the second one go in.

He added: “I probably want a couple of drives back on the back nine but the rest of it, I feel like I didn’t really miss a shot. I putted really well. I’m going to be in the hunt [on Sunday] which is pretty cool.”

Playing alongside 2024 Open champion Xander Schauffele, Fox made a fast start, with five birdies in his opening eight holes.

His only blemish came on the par-four 13th, failing to get up and down from the left rough after his tee shot was pushed into the fairway bunker.

He responded with three birdies in the next four holes to give himself a shot at breaking history, only to once more find his driving wanting on the last.

Fox holds the clubhouse lead on eight under par. That score tied with Australian Herbert, who tees off at 15:50 BST.

Branden Grace became the first man to hit 62 in the men’s major during the third round at Royal Birkdale in 2017.

Since then, six more players have emulated his feat, with Fox’s playing partner Schauffele making two himself, at the 2023 US Open and 2024 US PGA Championship.

The American’s victory at Valhalla two years ago remains the only time a player has won the same major in which they’ve shot a 62.

“He came out hot,” Schauffele said. “He took on risk when he had to, tried to stay aggressive.

“He played amazing and I was trying to hop on whatever wave he was on.

“The wind was down for us. You saw they did not want a 62 looking at the pin sheet.

“I don’t know where they’re going to put the pins [on Sunday] after Fox’s 62 but they were definitely on some slopes. His 62 is impressive, for sure.”

Seven days ago, Korea’s Haeran Ryu shot an 11-under-par 60 at the Evian Championship, to record the lowest round in any men’s or women’s major.