Amazing Grace

Records were broken the last time The Open was staged at Royal Birkdale, with one player managing a feat never before achieved in the fabled history of the Championship.

The number etched on Branden Grace’s irons serve as a reminder of the day he stunned Southport and served up one of The Open’s all time great performances.

His now legendary third-round 62 remains the lowest 18-hole tally ever carded at Championship – and was, at the time, the lowest round recorded in any men’s major.

The South African didn’t end the week in 2017 as Champion Golfer – that honour went to Jordan Spieth – however his Open legacy is secure forever thanks to a sensational display which came at a venue steeped in Open history, and in a week packed with world class golf.

Branden's record round

One remarkable thing about this sparkling Saturday at The 146th Open was that as Grace was standing over his putt on 18 he had no idea he was on the cusp of history.

“Let’s get this out of the way: I didn’t know what was going on at 18. I promise you,” he said afterwards.

“I honestly didn’t. I was just so in the zone of playing, hole after hole.

“I knew making the turn in five-under was pretty special. I thought if I could make a couple more on the back nine, then it was going to be a great score. I had no idea that 62 was the lowest ever.”

This was flawless golf. He holed eight birdies, including five in his opening nine holes to go out in 29, and didn’t drop a single shot throughout.

After further birdies on 14 and 16 word began to spread that something special was happening, and crowds flocked to catch a glimpse of Grace as he unwittingly closed in on a new record.

“After that hole there were so many people, the vibe started to change,” he said. “But being so in the zone and things, it still didn’t click what was really going on.”

Players have recorded lower rounds to-par throughout the years, and the tally has been matched in other major championships, but nine years on nobody has been able to go as low as 62 at The Open.

“I saw Gary Player on the Sunday evening and he came and gave me a big hug and said congrats,” Grace added. “He said it doesn’t matter if somebody else shoots a 62, you’ll always be the first.”

A week of world class golf

Another player who broke new ground on The Open’s most recent visit to Royal Birkdale was Haotong Li.

His magical final round of 63, in what was his Championship debut, would have been a record-equalling total had it not been for Grace’s heroics 24 hours earlier. It was, however, the lowest major round ever recorded by a Chinese golfer.

Aged just 21, Li propelled himself into third place with a sensational bogey-free seven-under-par tally, surging through the field during a stunning back nine while playing alongside two-time Champion Golfer Ernie Els; an experience he described after his round as a “dream come true”.

Dustin Johnson, who was joint runner-up at The 140th Open in 2011, found form on the final day at Royal Birkdale himself with a score of 64. And the same number was managed by Aaron Baddeley, with the Australian matching countryman Ian Baker-Finch’s third-round total at the same venue 26 years earlier.

Incidentally, the 64 recorded by Baker-Finch en route to his Open triumph in 1991 was a course record at the time – before being beaten by Jodie Mudd’s 63 the following day.

Amidst the drama, and the thrilling golf served up across a venue where every inch of it has to be earned, it was Spieth who left Southport with silverware that week.

His 12-under-par total was achieved in no small part thanks to two rounds of 65. One came in Thursday’s opening day, and the other as Grace was setting Championship records on Saturday.

This put the Texan in pole position heading into a final day where he produced a now legendary back nine to claim the Claret Jug.

An incredible recovery from the practice ground on 13 followed by a near-ace on 14 and a birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie sequence down the stretch.

Royal Birkdale has a habit of conjuring up this magic.

At a venue steeped in Open history, while faced with the toughest of links golf tests, the players made history of their own the last time around at Royal Birkdale.

What drama lies in wait when The 154th Open gets under way in July?