Frankie Capan III made headlines around the golf world on Thursday, April 25, by going super low during the first round of the Veritex Bank Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour. Capan is in his second season as a professional and is ranked 298th in the world.
He played his first round at Texas Rangers Golf Club in Arlington for a 13-under 58. He carded a bogey-free round with 11 birdies and an eagle, recording the first sub-60 round of his professional career.
Frankie Capan III's tremendous round started with par on hole one. He birdied the next four and parred the next three to get a spectacular eagle on the ninth and make the turn at 6 under 35.
Capan had no less than seven consecutive birdies on the back nine (10th through 16th) and parred the last two holes. He hit 11 of 14 fairways and reached 17 of 18 greens in regulation.
It's not the first time that Frankie Capan III has achieved a sub-60 score in his career. According to Golf Channel's college sports reporter Bentley Romine, Capan III scored a 59 in the final round of the 2018 Arizona High School D-III State Championship.
This score by Capan comes less than three months after Cristobal Del Solar carded a 57 at the Astara Golf Championship. Capan tied Stephan Jaeger (2016 Ellie Mae Classic) for the second-best score in course history.
Frankie Capan III's score in golf history
Frankie Capan III's 58 in the first round of the Veritex Bank Championship ties for second place for the lowest scores on the first and second level professional tours (PGA Tour, LIV Golf, DP World Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, etc.). The leading score is Del Solar's 57, which was set just a few months ago.
There have been seven scores of 58 on these circuits, including Capan III's. The most recent was Bryson DeChambeau's at the 2023 LIV Golf Greenbrier.
As for scores of 59, a total of 57 have been reported. The most recent was Aldrich Potgieter's at the 2024 Astara Golf Championship (the same event where Del Solar shot 57). Earlier, Joaquin Niemann had also shot 59 at the 2024 LIV Golf Mayakoba.
Annika Sorenstam stands out as the only female player in the 'under 60 club' of the world's main professional tours. She shot a round of 59 in the 2001 Standard Register PING.
Several sub-60 scores have been reported on other lower-level circuits, including a round of 57 by David Carey on the Alps Tour in 2019.
According to the Guinness World Record, the lowest score for a round of golf in history is credited to Australian Rhein Gibson, who carded a score of 55 on May 12, 2012, at River Oaks Golf Club in Oklahoma.