Lowest Back-to-Back Rounds in U.S. Open History
The U.S. Open is a golf tournament notorious for tough scoring conditions. So it's not surprising that there haven't been a ton of very low back-to-back rounds. But every so often the scoring conditions improve a bit or a golfer just gets hots and stays hot in the next round, too.
And there have been some impressive scores posted in consecutive rounds. So let's take a look.
The Record: 130 by Martin Kaymer and Rickie Fowler
Two golfers share the U.S. Open record for consecutive rounds at 130 strokes. Martin Kaymer first set the record of 130 by shooting back-to-back 65s in the first two rounds at the 2014 U.S. Open. That one was played on Pinehurst Resort's No. 2 Course. It was the first U.S. Open at Pinehurst since 2005, when no golfer finished under par on No. 2.Kaymer wound up winning that tournament with a total of 271, which broke the then-U.S. Open scoring record. And he won by eight strokes, which is among the largest margins of victory at the U.S. Open.
In 2023, on the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club, Fowler joined Kaymer. Like Kaymer, Fowler shot 130 over the first two rounds of the tournament. In the first round, Fowler had a historic 62 — the very first round of 62 in U.S. Open history. In the second round, Fowler added a 68 to tie the record.
The List: Lowest Consecutive Rounds in a U.S. Open
Here is the list of lowest back-to-back scores in U.S. Open history:- 130 — Martin Kaymer, 2014 U.S. Open, 65-65 in Rounds 1 and 2
- 130 — Rickie Fowler, 2023 U.S. Open, 62-68 in Rounds 1 and 2
- 131 — Rory McIlroy, 2011 U.S. Open, 65-66 in Rounds 1 and 2
- 131 — Wyndham Clark, 2023 U.S. Open, 64-67 in Rounds 1 and 2
- 132 — Larry Nelson, 1983 U.S. Open, 65-67 in Rounds 3 and 4
- 132 — Ricky Barnes, 2009 U.S. Open, 67-65 in Rounds 1 and 2
- 132 — Louis Oosthuizen, 2015 U.S. Open, 66-66 in Rounds 2 and 3
- 132 — Justin Thomas, 2017 U.S. Open, 69-63 in Rounds 2 and 3
- 132 — Rory McIlroy, 2023 U.S. Open, 65-67, Rounds 1 and