Fewest Putts for 18 Holes on the PGA Tour: All-Time Record

What is the fewest putts any golfer has needed to play a round in a PGA Tour tournament? That PGA Tour record is 18 — just 18 putts to finish 18 holes. And who holds that record? Quite a few golfers.

There are currently 12 golfers who share the PGA Tour record for fewest putts in an 18-hole round. The first golfer to do it did it way back in 1979, and the most-recent golfer to do it did it in 2021.

None of the golfers who share this, record, however, won the tournament in which they tied the mark. In fact, one golfer on the list didn't even make the cut.

The List: PGA Tour Record, Fewest Putts, 18 Holes

These are all the golfers who currently share the record, plus their scores in their record-tying round and where they finished in the tournament. Golfers are listed in reverse-chronological order, with the golfer who first established the record at the bottom.

18 Putts

  • Cameron Smith, 2021 WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational, second round at TPC Southwind, scored 62 in the round, finished tournament tied for fifth place
  • Xinjun Zhang, 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational, third round at Bay Hill Club & Lodge, scored 75, finished tied for 52nd place
  • Gary Woodland, 2019 Players Championship, fourth round at TPC Sawgrass, scored 68, finished in a tie for 30th
  • Sung Kang, 2017 CIMB Classic, second round at TPC Kuala Lumpur, scored 69, finished tied for 21st
  • Blake Adams, 2010 Verizon Heritage, second round at Harbour Town Golf Links, scored 62, tied for 64th place
  • Ken Duke, 2009 WGC CA Championship, third round at Doral Golf Resort and Spa, scored 67, finished in a tie for 40th
  • Corey Pavin, 2000 Bell Canadian Open, second round at Glen Abbey Golf Club, scored 65, tied for 42nd place
  • Jim McGovern, 1992 Federal Express St. Jude Classic, second round, TPC Southwind, scored 62, finished in fourth place
  • Andy North, 1990 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic, second round, Kingsmill Golf Club, scored 69, tied 64th place
  • Kenny Knox, 1989 MCI Heritage Golf Classic, first round, Harbour Town Golf Links, scored 69, finished tied for fifth place
  • Mike McGee, 1987 Federal Express St. Jude Classic, first round, Colonial Country Club (Memphis, Tenn.), scored 70, missed the cut
  • Sam Trahan, 1979 IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic, fourth round, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club, scored 70, finished in 72nd place
When Trahan lowered the record to 18 putts in a single round in 1979, whose record did he break? Multiple golfers had played 18 holes in 19 putts at that point. But the first golfer to use only 19 putts in a PGA Tour round was Bill Nary in the third round of the 1952 El Paso Open. That is the same round in which Nary set a PGA Tour record for fewest putts in nine holes (seven on the back nine) that stood for 50 years.

Also note that two golfers who share the 18-hole record also appear on the list of golfers with the fewest putts for 72 holes on the PGA Tour. Cameron Smith and Kenny Knox, in the tournaments listed above, both finished with 93 putts total for the tournament, which is tied for second-best all-time.

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