Ouch! Japanese golfer records one of the worst rounds in British Open history at Royal Troon

Aguri Iwasaki played three holes in 13-over par at The Open at Troon.

Aguri Iwasaki arrived at Royal Troon hoping to make headlines as the first Japanese winner of The Open. Unfortunately, he’ll go down in history for one of the worst rounds the Major has ever seen.

Playing in his first Open, the 26-year-old made a solid start on Thursday at Royal Troon, shooting a three-over 74 in tough conditions, leaving him with high hopes of making the cut and playing the weekend in Scotland.

He endured a tough 2023 season on the DP World Tour, making a mere three halfway cuts in 15 starts – and none in his last nine tournaments – but he returned to his homeland for 2024 and needed only two events to make a name for himself with his first victory at the Japan Open, shooting a closing 65 to secure his Open debut.

With the gusts blowing again on Friday the World No.569 found himself three-over for his round as he stood on the par-4 12th tee. A disappointing double-bogey followed.

But then disaster struck. His first tee shot at the par-4 13th found thick rough. He hit a provisional out of bounds before hitting a third ball, this time finding the rough. His approach found the fringe at the back of the green and he then chipped and two-putted for a quintuple bogey nine.

The par-3 14th, playing the 9th hardest hole on the course, offered an opportunity to get things back on track. Unfortunately for Iwasaki, he completely derailed.

His tee shot on the 197-yard hole found the bunker to the left of the green. His first attempt stayed in the sand and his second found the front-right bunker. He took three shots to get out of the sand and still wasn’t on the green. His chip from the front found the rear fringe and he managed to get up and down for a second successive nine… only this time it was for a sextuple bogey. Incredibly, despite the nine, Iwasaki’s par-3 scoring in the second round was only the joint worst of the day. He played the four short holes in +7, as did Tiger Woods!

To give Iwasaki credit, he steadied the ship with three consecutive pars from the 15th to the 17th before enduring a nightmare finale, making a triple-bogey seven to sign for a 20-over par 91. At 23-over for his two rounds, he props up the field.

His 91 was the highest score since David Duval shot the same score at Royal Portrush in 2019 and only Ian Baker-Finch, who scored 92 around Troon in 1997, has a worse score at The Open in the last four decades.

All three remain a long way behind the worst-ever score at the championship, with that honor belonging to John Hughes, who recorded 130 in the second round at Royal St George’s in 1894.

The worst rounds of golf in Open Championship history

These are the worst rounds of each decade in the Open Championship’s long history. We’ve only gone back to the 1890s because the records (It only goes back that far for two reasons: first, record-keeping gets spotty the farther back you go, and, second, many Opens prior to that time were played over 12-hole rounds.)

• 1892-1899: 130, John Hughes, second round, 1894 at Royal St. George’s
• 1900-1909: 101 by four golfers — John Wilson, 1900; J.S. Caird, 1901; B. Smith (amateur), 1904; J. Walker, 1904
• 1910-1914: 107, A.H. Molesworth, first round, 1911 at Royal St George’s
• 1920-1929: 94 by two golfers — Albert S. Tingey Jr., 1923 (Troon) and Charles White, 1925 (Prestwick)
• 1930-39: 92 by three golfers — James McDowall, 1930; Tom Walker Jr., 1931; C.A. Winks, 1936
• 1946-49: 90, A.W. Sanders, first round, 1946 at The Old Course at St. Andrews
• 1950-59: 93, Vicomte De Saint-Saveur (amateur), first round, 1953 at Carnoustie
• 1960-69: 94, Robin Davenport, first round, 1966 at Muirfield
• 1970-79: 93, Henry Cotton, first round, 1977 at Turnberry
• 1980-89: 95, Guy McQuitty, first round, 1986 at Turnberry
• 1990-99: 92, Ian Baker-Finch, first round, 1997 at Troon
• 2000-09: 89, John Daly, second round, 2008 at Royal Birkdale
• 2010-19: 91, David Duval, first round, 2019 at Royal Portrush
• 2020-present: 83, Mark Calcavecchia, first round, 2022 at The Old Course at St. Andrews

About the Author

Rob Jerram – Digital Editor

Rob specializes in the DP World Tour, PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the Ryder Cup, spending large chunks of his days reading about, writing about, and watching the tours each month.

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