David Skinns shot one of the best rounds in PGA Tour history Thursday at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
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Many players fell down in the opening round of Sanderson Farms Championship 2024, but veteran David Skinns took it to a whole other level, shooting a 60 to open a three-shot lead after 18 holes.
Making this feat all the more impressive is the fact that the Country Club of Jackson is playing a par-72 this week, so Skinns had to go 12 under on Thursday to sign for his 6-0. But despite his epic performance, which featured 12 birdies and six pars, the 42-year-old English professional was left ‘disappointed’.
That’s because his blistering 60 was oh-so-close to a record 13-under 59, which would be just the fifth such round in PGA Tour history. (Fourteen players have broken 60, most of them on par-70 or par-71 performances.)
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When Skinns birdied the par-4 ninth Thursday afternoon, his final hole of the day, he was coming off back-to-back birdies and finally needed one more to hit the magic number of sub-60.
He drove his drive down the middle of the 9th fairway, then hit a beautiful approach that left him with a nine-foot putt to make history. Unfortunately for Skinns, his shot slipped and he settled for a 59, hence the disappointment.
Skinns explained his mixed feelings to reporters after the round ended Thursday night.
“It’s hard not to be a little disappointed because how many nine-footers are you going to get to shoot 59? I’m sure I won’t have much,’ complained Skinns. “It’s hard not to be a little bit disappointed, but I really 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 something I’ll take away today.”
He then went into more detail about his reading and what he would change if he could do a remake.
“I probably had a ball out of the cup. If I could do it over again, I’d have a mug out. But yeah, it just broke a lot more than I thought it would. I thought it was more grain than whole grain. This is a type of golf course. Sometimes the grain is a little different than what you think,” explained Skinns. “It just so happened that this was for a 59. But there were a lot of things that I got right, so I’m going to focus on what I got right.”
And he got a lot in the first round. He split his 12 birdies evenly across both back nines, draining six a side with the help of some long putts. But no putt was longer than his 54-foot birdie putt on the 7th, the third and final hole of the day, which gave him an opening to try for a 59.
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He also admitted that “anyone in the world” would take his 60th round.
“It was just one of those great days. I had a few that were not expected. One off the green on 15 and then a par – the one on the par-3 7th was unexpected. I just happened to hit a layup and read it perfectly,” Skinns reflected. “It was just one of those dream days where I’ve never been in a bad place. Even if I missed a fairway, I was in a good spot, and then (on) the par-5 they settled it well, and yeah, I took advantage when I could.”
And while he would like to take another shot at his final shot for 59, he was still more than satisfied with his performance on Thursday and that he was able to keep his hopes of a 59 alive until end, although the pressure increased towards the end of the round.
“Yeah, I’d like it back now, but like you said, it felt pretty in control and I was happy with the way I played those last few holes. In the back of your mind it’s easy to start thinking about it, but happy with how I didn’t get ahead of myself, and happy with how I stayed aggressive.”
Skinns is off to the second round of Sanderson Farms on Friday at 2:18 pm ET. With his shot at 59 behind him, he will now train his focus on capturing his first career PGA Tour victory.
