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17-year-old ties world record with nine consecutive birdies in professional event
Francois Nel
For those who believe par should be protected, it's been a tough golf season. There were 59s from Justin Thomas and Adam Hadwin, a U.S. Open venue that surrendered the lowest round and total score in tournament history, and the first-ever 62 in a major from Branden Grace. Add another red-figured feat to the list, courtesy of Rayhan Thomas.
Thomas, a 17-year-old amateur, tied a world record with nine consecutive birdies in an Official World Golf Ranking event on Tuesday. Playing in the Mena Tour's Dubai Creek Open, Thomas began his streak on the second hole at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club -- Thomas' home course -- ultimately finishing with a 10-under 61.
"Yeah, it was fun. It was a good run of birdies," Thomas told reporters. "I just stayed pretty much in the moment and let it happen. It just felt natural.
“I knew I could go low, especially round my home track where I know the greens so well. So I just let everything flow. I didn’t know about the record, but that’s nice. That’s pretty cool.”
Thomas tied the mark originally set by Mark Calcavecchia at the 2009 Canadian Open at Glen Abbey. Earlier this year, Bernd Wiesberger recorded nine straight birds at the European Tour's Maybank Championship, although it didn't qualify due to the tournament playing preferred lies.