[PHOTO: Getty Images (inset: LIV Golf)]
Well, this is a stat. The first ever 59 on a professional tour that began on the second hole of a golf course was recorded today, at LIV Golf Indiana by Sebastian Munoz.
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Munoz, the Colombian who plays on Joaquin Niemann’s Torque GC team, began the first round of LIV Golf Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills, a par 71, on the second hole due to LIV’s shotgun start format. When he drained a short birdie at the first he had shot 59 to reach 12 under par in the first round of the last individual tournament of LIV Golf’s season. The league’s finale, the team championship, will be held in Michigan next week.
Munoz recorded the third sub-60 round in LIV’s short history following Bryson DeChambeau’s 58 at The Greenbrier in 2023 and Niemann’s 59 at the 2024 LIV Golf Mayakoba. Munoz was three shots ahead of Dustin Johnson (62), while Cam Smith, Niemann, Patrick Reed and Thomas Pieters were sharing at seven under (64).
Perhaps the wilder stat from Munoz’s round is that he had an early double-bogey and was one-over-par through four holes.
“Awesome, awesome day,” Munoz, 32, said. “Feeling right now a bit tired. It was a lot of mental strength out there. I started decent. A couple pars, a birdie and then a couple bad shots in a row, ended up making double. Kind of forgave myself, honestly. I didn’t want to hold on and have a grudge all day … [and] I ended up chipping in for birdie on six.”
Indeed, after two opening pars on holes two and three, Munoz birdied the fourth. He then double-bogeyed the par-4 fifth to sit one-over. Munoz promptly tore the course a new golf hole when he made eight consecutive birdies from there, starting with that chip-in for birdie at the sixth.
“I hit really good shots, really committed shots, swung the ball really good and made the clutch putts,” he said.
Later, the former PGA Tour winner made an incredibly boring par at the 221-yard, par-3 14th before resuming business with another four straight birdies from the 15th.
Knowing he needed birdie on No.1 for a 59, Munoz’s caddie convinced him to take a 3-wood from the tee to boost his chances of finding the fairway. From there, a perfect gap wedge left a short birdie putt.
“Three-wood [is] one of the clubs I don’t really love in my bag, but obviously, it just required a little bit more focus, a little bit more trust, and we managed to pull through and did it, and we had 127 [yards] left, a little downwind,” Munoz said. “So we ended up playing for a 118 shot with my 50-degree, which I like a lot.
“Once I hit it, I saw it going straight at it, I was like, ooh, it’s going to be good. Then I couldn’t see it, but Sergio [Garcia] and Carlos [Ortiz] both gave me the hands up like it was tight. So really good, and then I ended up having a three-footer up the hill pretty straight, and it kind of reminded me of a putt I hit in the US Open qualifier in sectionals that I had a three-footer to make it through and I missed it, and I felt like I rushed it. I wasn’t all of myself there. So I just reminded myself, just stay here in the moment, keep breathing, one more time, just keep it simple, and it worked.”
SUB-60 ROUNDS IN PRO GOLF
*A denotes amateur
| Player | Score | To Par | Event & Year | Tour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cristobal Del Solar | 57 | -13 | 2024 Astara Golf Championship | Korn Ferry Tour |
| Alex Ross* | 57 | — | 2019 Dogwood Invitational | Amateur |
| Jim Furyk | 58 | -12 | 2016 Travelers Championship | PGA Tour |
| Bryson DeChambeau | 58 | -12 | 2023 LIV Golf Greenbrier | LIV Golf |
| Frankie Capan III | 58 | -13 | 2024 Veritex Bank Championship | Korn Ferry Tour |
| Stephan Jaeger | 58 | -12 | 2016 Ellie Mae Classic | Korn Ferry Tour |
| Alejandro del Rey | 58 | — | 2021 Swiss Challenge | Challenge Tour |
| Al Geiberger | 59 | -13 | 1977 Memphis Classic | PGA Tour |
| Chip Beck | 59 | -13 | 1991 Las Vegas Invitational | PGA Tour |
| David Duval | 59 | -13 | 1999 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic | PGA Tour |
| Notah Begay III | 59 | — | 1998 Las Vegas Invitational | Nike Tour |
| Doug Dunakey | 59 | — | 1998 Miami Valley Open | Nike Tour |
| Masahiro Kuramoto | 59 | — | 2003 Acom International | Japan Golf Tour |
| Jason Gore | 59 | — | 2005 Cox Classic | Nationwide Tour |
| Adrien Mork | 59 | — | 2006 Tikida Hotels Agadir Moroccan Classic | Challenge Tour |
| Paul Goydos | 59 | -12 | 2010 John Deere Classic | PGA Tour |
| Stuart Appleby | 59 | -11 | 2010 Greenbrier Classic | PGA Tour |
| Jim Furyk | 59 | -12 | 2013 BMW Championship | PGA Tour |
| Will Wilcox | 59 | — | 2013 Utah Championship | Korn Ferry Tour |
| Russell Knox | 59 | — | 2013 Boise Open | Korn Ferry Tour |
| Justin Thomas | 59 | -11 | 2017 Sony Open | PGA Tour |
| Adam Hadwin | 59 | -13 | 2017 CareerBuilder Challenge | PGA Tour |
| Brandt Snedeker | 59 | -11 | 2018 Wyndham Championship | PGA Tour |
| Kevin Chappell | 59 | -11 | 2019 A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier | PGA Tour |
| Scottie Scheffler | 59 | -12 | 2020 The Northern Trust | PGA Tour |
| Mac Meissner | 59 | -12 | 2023 Lecom Suncoast Classic | Korn Ferry Tour |
| Joaquin Niemann | 59 | -12 | 2024 LIV Golf Mayakoba | LIV Golf |
| Cameron Young | 59 | -11 | 2024 Travelers Championship | PGA Tour |
| Hayden Springer | 59 | -12 | 2024 John Deere Classic | PGA Tour |
| Jake Knapp | 59 | -12 | 2025 Cognizant Classic | PGA Tour |
| Annika Sorenstam | 59 | -13 | 2001 Standard Register Ping | LPGA Tour |
| Oliver Fisher | 59 | -12 | 2018 Portugal Masters | DP World Tour |
| Sebastián Muñoz | 59 | -12 | LIV Golf Indianapolis | LIV Golf |
