Justin Rose says Masters tournament record of 63 could fall one day. It would take near perfection
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Brooks Koepka was asked a couple of years ago whether it was possible to shoot 59 at the Masters and shatter that most hallowed scoring barrier few will ever touch and even fewer have accomplished in a professional tournament. The look of incredulity that crossed his face was at once withering and comical.
“Have you played here? ” Koepka replied. “Not yet,” he was informed.
“Yeah,” Koepka said, “I could tell by the question. ” In fact, only two people have managed a round of 63 at the Masters, much less 59. Nick Price was the first to set the record four decades ago, and the most recent was Greg Norman, whose first-round 63 in 1996 came before his epic final-round collapse.
That remains the highest single-round scoring record of any of the major championships. “I'm surprised that it has been that long,” said Justin Rose, who has twice shot 65, including the first round last year, which he paired with a final-round 66 that put him in a playoff that he lost to Rory McIlroy. Rose also has shot 81 at Augusta National, by the way.
“There's so many great players capable of putting up that number,” Rose continued, reflecting on the longstanding record ahead of this year's tournament . “I think that the course lends itself most ideally to that score on a Sunday, but also if conditions allow, Sunday is kind of when the course is getting its most sort of maxed out, in terms of green speeds and firmness. So that kind of counteracts some of those more accessible hole locations that traditionally we see on Sunday.