MILWAUKEE -- Corey Pavin set the PGA TOUR’s scoring record for nine holes Thursday, shooting a 26 on the front nine in the U.S. Bank Championship.
‘It seemed like it was a misprint up there maybe,’ Pavin said. ‘It was just one of those nine holes, once in a lifetime for me so far, anyway.’
Pavin, who was 8 under at the turn and finished his bogey-free round at 9 under, broke the mark of 27 set by Mike Souchak in the 1955 Texas Open and matched by Andy North (1975 B.C. Open), Billy Mayfair (2001 Buick Open) and Roberts Gamez (2004 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic). North and Gamez are both playing in the tournament this week at the par-70 Brown Deer Park Golf Course.
The 46-year-old Pavin birdied the first six holes -- starting off with a 39-foot putt -- then needed two putts at the par-3 seventh after pushing his ball past the hole.
He rebounded with birdies on Nos. 8 and 9, first by hitting a firm putt that dropped in the center of the cup from 15 feet, and then watching his putt on the ninth slow to a near stop before falling in from 9 feet.
‘Obviously the front nine was an exceptional nine holes of golf,’ Pavin said. ‘I knew 59 was possible when I made the turn. I just tried to play the best I could and came up a little bit short.’
The PGA TOUR scoring record is 59, set by Al Geiberger in 1977 and tied by Chip Beck (1991) and David Duval (1999).
Pavin, the 1995 U.S. Open winner, hit just two of six fairways in regulation, but needed only 10 putts to get through the first nine holes. For the round, he hit three of 13 fairways and needed 25 putts.
‘I really didn’t even feel all that great on the range warming up,’ Pavin said. ‘Golf’s like that, things happen and you never know when they’re going to happen.’
Pavin, who has 14 PGA Tour victories in his career, does not have a top-10 finish in 2006 and has made the cut in only half of the 16 tournaments he’s played this season. One of his wins was at the Greater Milwaukee Open at the Tuckaway Country Club in 1986, when he won on the fourth hole of a playoff over Dave Barr.
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Pavin Sets PGA TOUR Nine-Hole Scoring Record
Published July 27, 2006 04:00 PM
