Lowest Score After 36 Holes in British Open

In the very long history of the British Open, only one golfer so far has played the first two rounds* in fewer than 130 strokes. That record-holder is Louis Oothuiszen. But that record-setter did not go on to victory. (*Since 1892, when the Open permantly became a four-round, 72-hole tournament.)

Oosthuizen opened the 2021 Open Championship with a round of 64, and followed that with a second-round 65. That 129 set the record that currently stands for lowest score after the first two rounds in the British Open.

But Oosthuizen had only a two-stroke lead at that point over Collin Morikawa, whose 131 total after 36 holes of the 2021 Open also makes the following list. And it was Morikawa who went on to the victory, while Oosthuizen finished in third place.

Lowest Scores, First 36 Holes, Open Championship

These are the best scores after the first two rounds in the British Open:

• 129 — Louis Oosthuizen (64-65), 2021, Royal St George's, finished third
• 130 — Nick Faldo (66-64), 1992, Muirfield, won
• 130 — Brandt Snedeker (66-64), 2012, Royal Lytham & St. Annes, finished third
• 131 — Adam Scott (64-67), 2012, Royal Lytham & St. Annes, finished second
• 131 — Collin Morikawa (67-64), 2021, Royal St George's, won
• 131 — Cameron Smith (67-64), 2022, The Old Course at St. Andrews, won

The record Oosthuizen broke had belonged to Nick Faldo and Brandt Snedeker at 130. Faldo's 130 happened in the 1992 British Open, and he went on to victory. Snedeker, in the 2012 Open, like Oosthuizen, wound up in third place.

Faldo's 130 is the oldest score on the list, the only one recorded prior to 2012. He shared the record for nearly 30 years.

But what was the record before Faldo opened the 1992 Open with rounds of 66 and 64? That was 132, and Faldo shared that record, too: Faldo and Greg Norman both scored 132 for the first two rounds in 1990. But all the way back in the 1934 British Open, Henry Cotton was the first golfer in this major championship to score 132 for the first two rounds.

Related articles:

• Lowest scores in back-to-back rounds of the British Open
• Lowest final-round scores by British Open winners
• Defending champs who missed the cut in British Open

Sources:
The R&A. The Open Media Guide, Previous Tournaments.
The R&A. The Open Media Guide, The Open Championship Records, Scoring Records - General.