PGA Tour Players with the Best Chance to Go Below 59
For many years, the magic number in was 60. If a golfer could sign a scorecard with that number, he was something special.
And then along came the 59 club. Six players in PGA Tour history have hit that mark: Al Geiberger, Chip Beck, David Duval, Paul Goydos, Stuart Appleby, Jim Furyk.
Ryo Ishikawa shot 58 in 2010 on the Japan Golf Tour at the Crowns, but that has not yet been accomplished on the PGA Tour.
As the 2015 PGA Tour season gets started, the question is: Who has the best chance to eclipse that 59 and set a new standard for scoring?
I've looked into my crystal ball and have come up with a list of guys who might have a shot at doing just that.
Jason Day
1 of 7
I'm convinced we've not seen the best of Jason Day.
It seemed like we were going to see it in 2014, but wrist, thumb and back injuries prevented that.
He does all of the things needed to post a low number: hits the ball long off the tee, is relatively accurate in hitting greens and putts well. Day's numbers from 2014 were very good considering the kinds of injuries he was battling.
Day averaged 3.58 birdies per round last year, and you just get the feeling that if he gets healthy and gets his powerful swing grooved, he could go historically low.
Patrick Reed
2 of 7
Patrick Reed is a guy with a fiery, fearless personality—characteristics that are extremely helpful for a golfer trying to go low.
In 2014, Reed hit 3.49 birdies per round and was sixth on tour with 14 eagles.
He ruffled a lot of feathers last March after winning the World Golf Championship-Cadillac Championship when he declared himself a top-five player in the world. His game went into the dumps for a considerable time after that, but he was a force in his first Ryder Cup competition.
His temperament makes him a serious contender to go low.
Billy Horschel
3 of 7
Billy Horschel is another player with the kind of dogged determination needed to go really, really low. That attitude can get him off track at times, but when he gets everything together, as he did in a third-round 63 of the BMW Championship last year, he can be magic.
He was sixth in eagles with 14 and 61st in birdies in 2014. But the 63 shows what is in the tank.
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Rory McIlroy
4 of 7
We got a glimpse of the power and grace of Rory McIlroy when he overpowered AND picked up two major venues and a World Golf Championship venue in the middle of the summer in 2014.
His birdie average of 4.58 per round was tops on tour in 2014; his nine eagles were 13th-best; and he averaged 310 yards off the tee, third-best on tour.
And don't forget, those numbers are for the full season. McIlroy didn't really get his game cranked into high gear until midway through the year.
McIlroy is so good that probably one of his deep secret wishes is to get locked in on a round at some point and post a 58.
Chris Kirk
5 of 7
Considering the number of graduates from the University of Georgia (five played in the season-opening Tournament of Champions), chances were good that one of them might make this list.
Chris Kirk is that man. The 29-year-old has blossomed into one of the young stars on the PGA Tour, and the two rounds of 64 he put up on tour last year prove he's not afraid to go low.
He's not extremely long off the tee, but he was long enough to make nine eagles, average 3.68 birdies a round and had a scoring average of 70.15, 25th on the PGA Tour.
Like all of these guys, a quick start to a round with a player locked in and Kirk can hit the magic number.
Bubba Watson
6 of 7
Bubba Watson is talented enough and creative enough to shoot a very low number, but it's the mental aspect of the game that will most likely keep him from ever thinking about posting a round that begins with a "5."
By the numbers, you'd think he'd be the best bet to shoot a 58. Watson was No. 1 in driving distance at 314.3 per drive, he averaged 3.96 birdies per round and made 11 eagles in 2014.
The two-time Masters champion, however, will need to have two things in order to reach that magic number. His putter, often times an issue for him, will need to be hot and, perhaps most importantly, he'll need to wake up on the right side of the "mental" bed and be locked in on going low.
Tony Finau
7 of 7
The name Tony Finau may not roll off your tongue when you start compiling a list of guys likely to better that magical 59, but this kid has all the tools to make it happen.
He was a star on the Web.com Tour and earned his way onto the PGA Tour this year. He takes that step with a reputation of being able to launch a golf ball long distances and control it nicely.
Finau made 16 eagles and 340 birdies in 2014 and had a 69.43 scoring average.
In the start to his rookie year on the PGA Tour, the 25-year-old is still bombing the ball, 307.9 yards on average, and has made 90 birdies in 18 rounds, an average of five per round.
This may be the guy.
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