David Skinns shot one of the best rounds in PGA Tour history Thursday at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
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Many players went down in the opening round of the 2024 Sanderson Farms Championship, but veteran David Skinns took it to the next level, shooting a 60 to take a three-shot lead after 18 holes.
What makes this even more impressive is that the Country Club of Jackson is playing at par-72 this week, so Skinns had to play 12 under on Thursday to post his 6-0. But despite his impressive performance, which included 12 birdies and six pars, the 42-year-old English champion was left feeling 'disappointed.'
That's because his brilliant 60 was so close to becoming a record 13-under 59, which would have been the fifth such round in PGA Tour history. (Fourteen players broke 60, most of them on par-70 or par-71 structures.)
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When Skinns stepped onto the par-4 9th tee Thursday afternoon, his final hole of the day, he was coming off back-to-back birdies and needed one last putt to hit the magic number of 60-under.
He drove down the middle of the 9th fairway, then hit a nice drive that left him with a nine-foot putt for the record. Unfortunately for Skinns, his putt missed, and he landed in 59, hence the disappointment.
Skinns explained his mixed feelings to reporters after the round was completed on Thursday evening.
“It's hard not to be a little disappointed because how many nine-footers are you going to shoot 59? I'm sure I won't get many,” Skinns lamented. “It's hard not to be a little disappointed, but I want to look back at how I felt mentally in control, how I kept attacking. I wasn't thinking about the future at all, which is the kind of thing I'm going to take away from today.”
He then explained in detail about his studies and what he would change if he could do it again.
“I've had football almost without a cup. If I could do it again I would give it a cup outside. But yeah, I just broke more than I thought. I thought it was more downgrain than across the grain. This type of golf course. “Sometimes the grain is a little different than what you think,” explains Skinns. As it happens, that was for the 59ers. But I have fixed a lot, so I will focus on what I fixed.”
And he got a lot in the first round. He split his 12 birdies evenly across both sides of the back nine, knocking six out of the way with the help of several long putts. But no putt was longer than his 54-foot birdie putt on the 7th hole, the third-to-last of the day, which gave him a shot at 59.
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He also admitted that “anyone in the world” would take his 60th round.
“It was just one of those good days. I entered a few unexpected ones. One off the green on the 15th and then a par – 7, par-3, was unexpected. “I just hit a good putt and read it well,” commented Skinns. “It was one of those dream days where I've never been in a really bad place. Even if I missed the road, I was in the right place, too [on the] The par-5 held it well, and yes, I took advantage when I could. “
And while he would have liked to get another crack at his final putt of 59, he was still very pleased with his performance on Thursday, and that he was able to keep his hopes of a 59 alive until the end, even if the pressure increased towards the end of the round.
“Yeah, I'd like it back now, but like you said, it felt in good control, and I'm happy with how I played those last few holes. In hindsight it's easy to start thinking about it, but I'm happy with how I didn't get ahead, and I'm happy with how I stayed aggressive.”
The Skinns begin the second round against Sanderson Farms on Friday at 2:18 pm ET. With his 59 shots behind him, he will now train his focus on capturing his first PGA Tour victory.
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