BRAINE, Minnesota – Adam Svenson made a 48-foot Eagle putt into a closed hole to complete the 11-under 60 on Thursday.
Svenson also made nine birdies and dropped no shots in the lowest round in the seven-year history of the tournament. He tied the TPC Twin City Course Record set by Paul Goidos at the PGA Tour Champion’s 2017 3M Championship.
Chris Gotterup, who finished third at the British Open last week and won the Scotland Open two weeks ago, was three shots alongside Chadramie and Matthias Schmidt. Zac Blair, Chris Kirk, Jake Knapp and Brendan Valdes were other shotbacks, while Rickie Fowler and Emiliano Grillo were among those under the age of six.
Svensson’s Lone Tour Win is the 2022 RSM Classic. The 31-year-old Canadian has one top-25 finish in 21 starts this season and missed 11 cuts.
“We had a great range session today,” Svenson said. Svenson only needed 25 putts, including a birdie of nearly 40 feet on the 11th hole and a fourth 34 footer. “The real surprise is that I’ve made a lot of breakers, and it was probably my best putting round I’ve ever had.”
His career-high 60 is the second-lowest score on the PGA Tour this season. Knapp Shot 59 at Cognizant Classic in February.
Stevens may have shot 59 on the par 5 in 18th place, but instead he placed his second shot in the water ahead of the green from 246 yards, earning his lonely bogey and still his lowest round of 62.
“There was a pretty big gap between the 3-iron and the 3-wood, and I hit a terrible shot. I thought if I hit a 3-wood it would just fly to the green back, and I thought I had to hit the 3-iron perfectly to cover the water.
Fowler and Grillo are among a group of 18 players ranked 60th to 80th in the FedEx Cup standings, requiring strong performances to secure a spot on the 70-man field in their first playoff event in two weeks. Fowler is No. 63 and Grillo is No. 71.
“At the end of the day, a good golf solves a lot,” Fowler said.
Patrick Rodgers and Gary Woodland (66th and 78th respectively) each had 67 shots 67. No. 70 Keith Mitchell won 68th and 65th place Cam Davis Shot 71.
Defending champion Jonattan Vegas shot a 68. Haotong Lee eventually paired with Scotty Schaeffler at last week’s British Open, tied up fourth, shooting a 1-under 70.