Rickie Fowler held the U.S. Open single-round scoring record for roughly 20 minutes before Xander Schauffele matched his 8-under 62 in prime conditions Thursday at Los Angeles Country Club.
The pair broke the record of 63, which was held by six players, in the 123rd edition of the season's third major. According to Justin Ray of the Twenty First Group, there have been over 47,366 rounds in U.S. Open history, with Fowler and Schauffele now representing the gold standard.
The total of 62 matches Branden Grace from the 2017 Open Championship for the lowest round in major championship history.
Fowler poured in 10 birdies over his round, including one from deep inside the trees in the barranca to the right of the eighth hole, his 17th of the day. That put him at the magic number with a comfortable two-putt on his final hole to secure the record.
Schauffele was two holes behind Fowler when he posted that number, and he matched his counterpart with a birdie on the eighth to get him to 8-under. Another two-putt for par on his last ensured the California native would hold a share of the record.
"It's not really what you expect playing a U.S. Open," Schauffele told Adam Schupak of Golfweek. "But monkey see, monkey do. Was just chasing Rickie up the leaderboard. Glad he was just in front of me"
Seeing both players succeed at the U.S. Open comes as no surprise, with the pair having combined for eight top-10 finishes in 18 starts at the event. Thursday's current standing is almost an exact replica of the opening round at the 2017 U.S. Open, where Fowler held a one-stroke lead over Schauffele after 18 holes at Erin Hills.
