Could we see a 59 at The Open? We asked the man who knows Royal Troon better than most

It used to be the holy grail in golf.

Indeed, until 2010, only three players had broken 60 on the PGA Tour. Now ten more have been added, while there has only been one on each of the DP World and LPGA Tours.

The majors, though, are a different beast.

There have been a handful of 61s in the women’s game, but on the men’s side that number remains untouched.

Branden Grace opened the bidding with a 62 in benign conditions at Royal Birkdale in 2017, and there have since been four more.

And one talking point in the build up to the 152nd Open at Royal Troon has been whether or not that number can be bested.

And who better to ask than Colin Montgomerie? Not many people know Royal Troon better than the Scot, who has been a member of the nine-time Open venue since childhood.

Greg Norman needed a then course-record 64 in ’89 to get into a play-off – that he would eventually lose to Mark Calcavecchia – and that number has since only been bettered by Henrik Stenson’s ludicrous final round to hold off Phil Mickelson the last time the battle for the Claret Jug was held in this glorious corner of Ayrshire.

Understandable, then, that Montgomerie should raise an eyebrow when the subject of a 59 comes up.

“I can see someone going out in six- or seven-under,” he reasons. “But then can they come back in three-under?

“The standard nowadays is extraordinary length when hitting the ball and, especially on the front nine, I can see six-under.

“Greg Norman, in ’89, started with six straight birdies in the last round. I can see it happening on the front nine, but it’s a question of whether or not they can hold on after the turn, where it’s very, very difficult.

“If the weather plays ball and you get very fortunate, where you’re blown out and you’re blown back – if the tide changes at a certain time of the day, you can play every hole damn near downwind if you get very lucky.

“It’s probably the easiest front nine in championship golf, and I would say it’s the hardest back nine. Amazing.

“Do I see 62? Possibly, yes. But, no, I don’t see a 59.”

So who does Montgomerie expect to see lifting the Claret Jug in front of Troon’s grandiose clubhouse come Sunday afternoon? While he doesn’t pinpoint in on anyone in particular, he does provide a method to whittle down the list of contenders.

“The greens are particularly small,” he explains. “The greens are the smallest of the courses on the Open rota, so iron play is vital.

“So then you’re looking at ball strikers, aren’t you? You know.

“Coming into The Open, we used to look at the top ten in the European Tour Order of Merit, the top ten in the PGA Tour money list, and the top ten in the world. And there were overlaps within that, so afterwards you’ve got 20 players.
“There’s your winner.

“It’s the same now. It’s one of 20 players, really. OK, Brian Harman wasn’t in that top 20 last year, but led the putting stats, and someone that leads the putting stats has got every chance.

“So you’re talking about the Collin Morikawas. you’re talking about the Xander Schauffeles. The guys that don’t make mistakes, like Scottie Scheffler, and if Rory McIlroy can drive the ball long and straight he’s got every chance.

“We would love to see a European winner, of course we would. But, as I said, the weather is so dependent here. You can get caught out and you can get unlucky, and vice versa.”

Colin Montgomerie was talking to bunkered at a Mercedes-Benz Patron Day ahead of the 152nd Open.

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor