The 18-Hole Scoring Record on the European Tour

Rafael Cabrera-Bello is one of the golfers who shares the European Tour 18-hole scoring record

What is the lowest 18-hole score ever posted on the European Tour? It's not 58, like on the PGA Tour. It's not 59 like on the LPGA Tour. In European Tour history, no golfer has yet broken 60. That is coming, and probably soon. But for now a passel of golfers share the European Tour scoring record for 18 holes, which is 60.

(Related: European Tour's 72-hole scoring records)

The First 60 on the European Tour

David Llewellyn holds the distinction of being the first golfer to post a round of 60 in a European Tour tournament. It happened at Biarritz Golf Club in France during the 1988 AGF Biarritz Open. Llewellyn was at 55 after 17 holes, but bogied the last hole of the round for 60.

Llewellyn, from Wales, was the European Rookie of the Year in 1971, but did not win any tournaments on the circuit until the 1980s. The 1988 AGF Biarritz Open was one of those victories. In addition to setting the new tour scoring record of 60, Llewellyn's winning total of 258 was also a 72-hole tour record at the time.

There is a bit of a catch, however: Llewellyn's 60 happened on a par-68 golf course. Still, it is recognized by the European Tour as the circuit's first 60 in an official round.

The Full List: European Tour 18-Hole Record-Holders

Here is the full list of golfers who share the tour's 18-hole scoring record. The golfers are grouped by their score in relation to par, and chronologically within each group.

  • Jamie Spence: 60 (-12), Canon European Masters, Crans-sur-Sierre, 1992
  • Bernhard Langer: 60 (-12), Linde German Masters, Berliner Golf & Country Club, 1997
  • Darren Clarke: 60 (-12), Smurfit European Open, K Club (Palmer Course), 1999
  • Fredrik Jacobson: 60 (-12), Linde German Masters, Gut Larchenhof, 2003
  • Ernie Els: 60 (-12), Heineken Classic, Royal Melbourne, 2004
  • Branden Grace: 60 (-12), Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Kingsbarns Golf Club, 2012
  • Brandt Snedeker: 60 (-12), WGC HSBC Champions, Missions Hills Golf Club, 2012
  • Peter Uihlein: 60 (-12), Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Kingsbarns Golf Club, 2013
  • Rafael Cabrera-Bello: 60 (-11), Austrian Golf Open, Fontana Golf Club, 2009
  • Scott Jamieson: 60 (-11), Portugal Masters, Oceanico Victoria Golf Course, 2013
  • Paul Curry: 60 (-10), Bell’s Scottish Open, Gleneagles Hotel (Kings), 1992
  • Tobias Dier: 60 (-10), TNT Open, Hilversumsche Golf Club, 2002
  • Kenneth Ferrie: 60 (-10), Open de Andalucia de Golf by Turkish Airlines, Parador del Golf, Malaga (Old Course), 2011
  • Ian Woosnam: 60 (-9), Torras Monte Carlo Open, Mont Agel Golf Club, 1990
  • Johan Rystrom: 60 (-9), European Monte Carlo Open, Mont Agel Golf Club, 1992
  • Darren Clarke: 60 (-9), European Monte Carlo Open, Mont Agel Golf Club, 1992
  • Phillip Archer: 60 (-9), Celtic Manor Wales Open, Celtic Manor Resort (Roman Road Course), 2006
  • David Llewellyn: 60 (-8), AGF Biarritz Open, Biarritz Golf Club, 1988

Darren Clarke is the only golfer so far who appears on the list twice. And Jaime Spence and Rafa Cabrera-Bello are the only golfers on the list whos 60s happened in the final round of a tournament they won.

Photo credit: Rafael Cabrera-Bello by © Marie-Lan Nguyen , via Wikimedia Commons

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