Everything you need to know about 63s in the majors
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Everything you need to know about 63s in the majors

HIROSHI IWATA


HAVEN, Wis. - With a tip of the hat and a golf clap to Una Jones of the PGA of America, here's everything you need to know about the magic number - 63, now accomplished 27 times.

With a 9-under-par 63 in the second round, Japan’s Hiroshi Iwata tied the all-time 18-hole scoring mark in a major championship. Additionally, Iwata set the competitive Straits Course scoring record by one stroke. China’s Wen Chang Liang had a 64 in the third round of the 2010 PGA Championship. He joins Japan’s Isao Aoki as the only Asian professional golfers to post a 63 in a major. Aoki recorded his 63 in the third round of the 1980 Open Championship.

He becomes the 25th golfer to card 63 in a major, a feat that has happened on 27 occasions.

Interestingly, he joins Michael Bradley (of all people...1995, PGA Championship 1st round) as the only players to record a 63 in a debut in a U.S. major championship.

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He also becomes the 13th player to post a 63 in a PGA Championship, a period of 40 years dating back to 1975 when Bruce Crampton had a second-round 63.

63s in Major Championship History

Although the complete list of 63s in a major championship is listed below, note that Greg Norman and Vijay Singh are the only players to record a 63 in more than one major championship. Six players have won after posting a 63 in a major: Johnny Miller (1973 U.S. Open), Raymond Floyd (1982 PGA Championship), Norman (1986 Open Championship), Jack Nicklaus (1980 U.S. Open), Tiger Woods (2007 PGA Championship) and Jason Dufner (2013 PGA Championship).

PGA Championship

Bruce Crampton
1975 (2nd round, Firestone)
71-63-75-69—278 (2nd to Nicklaus)

Raymond Floyd
1982 (1st round, wire-to-wire, Southern Hills)
63-69-68-72—272 (1st)

Gary Player
1984 (2nd round, Shoal Creek)
74-63-69-71—277 (T-2 to Trevino)

Vijay Singh
1993 (2nd round, Inverness)
68-63-73-70—274 (4th to Azinger)

Michael Bradley
1995 (1st round, Riviera)
63-73-73-74—283 (T-54 to Elkington)

Brad Faxon
1995 (4th round, Riviera)
70-67-71-63—271 (5th to Elkington)

José María Olazábal
2000 (3rd round, Valhalla)
76-68-63-69—276 (T-4 to Eldrick)

Mark O’Meara
2001 (2nd round, Atlanta Athletic Club)
72-63-70-73—278 (T-22 to Toms)

Thomas Bjorn
2005 (3rd round, Baltusrol)
71-71-63-72—277 (T-2 to Phil)

Tiger Woods
2007 (2nd round, Southern Hills)
71-63-69-69 –272 (1st)

Steve Stricker
2011 (1st round, AAC)
63-74-69-73—279 (T-12, K. Bradley)

Jason Dufner
2013 (2nd round, Oak Hill)
68-63-71-68—270 (1st)

Hiroshi Iwata
2015 (2nd round, Whistling Straits)
77-63 — (TBD)

Masters

Nick Price
1986 (3rd round)
76-69-63-71—282 (5th to Nicklaus)

Greg Norman
1996 (1st round)
63-69-71-78—281 (2nd to Faldo)

U.S. Open

Johnny Miller
1973 (4th round, Oakmont)
71-69-76-63—279 (1st)

Jack Nicklaus
1980 (1st round, Baltusrol)
63-71-70-68—272 (1st)

Tom Weiskopf
1980 (1st round, Baltusrol)
63-75-76-75—289 (37th)

Vijay Singh
2003 (2nd round, Olympia Fields)
70-63-72-78—283 (T-20)

Open Championship

Mark Hayes
1977 (2nd round, Turnberry)
76-63-72-73—284 (T-9 to T. Watson)

Isao Aoki
1980 (3rd round, Muirfield)
74-74-63-73—284 (T-12 T. Watson)

Greg Norman
1986 (2nd round, Turnberry)
74-63-74-69—280 (1st)

Paul Broadhurst
1990 (3rd round, St. Andrews)
74-69-63-74—280 (T-12 to Faldo)

Jodie Mudd
1991 (4th round, Royal Birkdale)
72-70-72-63—277 (T-5 to Baker-Finch)

Nick Faldo
1993 (2nd round, St. George's)
69-63-70-67—269 (2 to Norman)

Payne Stewart
1993 (4th round, St. George's)
71-72-70-63—276 (12th to Norman)

Rory McIlroy
2010 (1st round, St. Andrews)
63-80-69-68—280 (T-3 to Oosthuizen)

About the author

Jay Flemma

Starting with a blog and a dream, Jay Flemma launched his first sports-writing website in 2004. Some 13 years and 25 major golf championships later, Jay has won multiple national sports writing awards. Besides GNN, his work has appeared in numerous books as well as on-line at Cybergolf, PGA.com, GolfObserver, GolfChannel.com and many other sites and print magazines. When not trying to find a lost golf ball, Jay is an entertainment, copyright, Internet, sports and trademark lawyer in Manhattan. His clients have been nominated for Grammy and Emmy awards, won a Sundance Film Festival Best Director award, performed on stage and screen, and designed pop art for museums and collectors. Jay lives in Forest Hills, N.Y., and is fiercely loyal to his alma maters, Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and Trinity College in Connecticut.

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