Check out this gonzo scorecard.
Bryson DeChambeau made two – yes, just two – pars in Thursday’s first-round of the Northern Trust at Liberty National in Jersey City, New Jersey.
And still shot an even-par 71.
How is that possible? Well, he made nine birdies.
Here’s how the scorecard full of circles (birdies), boxes (bogeys) and double boxes (double bogeys) read above DeChambeau’s signature:
5-4-3-3-3-4-5-4-6 for a front-nine 37.
4-2-6-4-2-5-3-3-5 for a back-nine 34.
That’s two pars – on the par-3 third and the par-4 10th – nine birdies, five bogeys and two double bogeys. The world No. 6 started his round with two bogeys and ended his round with another bogey. Starting at the 11th, he went birdie-double bogey-birdie-birdie-bogey-birdie-birdie-bogey.
Northern Trust: Leaderboard | Photos
Two pars
NINE birdies
Five bogeys
Two doublesA roller-coaster day that ends back at even for @B_DeChambeau. pic.twitter.com/IhYZeABK4l
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 19, 2021
Despite the rarity of his round, DeChambeau, who is No. 7 in the FedEx Cup standings on the strength of his victory in the U.S. Open in the fall and the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this year, didn’t want to address it.
But he became just the fourth player since the PGA Tour started tracking hole-by-hole scores in 1983 to make two or fewer pars in a round and shoot par or better.
In 2011, Jarrod Lyle made two pars and shot 2-under-par 69 in the second round of the John Deere Classic.
In 2010, Kevin Johnson made two pars and shot 6-under-par 66 in the Puerto Rico Open.
And in 2001, Kaname Yokoo made just one par and somehow shot 4-under-par 68 in the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Players champion Justin Thomas also made nine birdies in the first round at Liberty National in the first of three events in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. But he made just one bogey and shot 63, which put him atop the leaderboard alongside reigning U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm, who had a bogey-free 63.