The winds were blustery and the course conditions firm, but that didn’t stop Tom Watson (1977) from breaking two GCRB records at Seaside (Pebble Beach). Watson turned in the all-time lowest round score for that course, a 63 (-9), and fewest number of putts in any round (18).
This happened over the course of two livestream events on the Game Caddie Play channel. Jeff Siegel masterfully guided Watson to a two-stroke victory. I was playing Ludvig Aberg (2023) who made up ground on the back nine but could only manage a 65 (-7). John Thompson shot even par on the back nine with Ben Hogan (1948) and finished with a 75 (+3).
Here’s the scorecard:
Amazingly, Watson had three eagles (all on the front nine) and a total of five birdies. He was aided by two chip-ins–one for an eagle and one for a bird. Not to be outdone, Hogan had three chip-ins!
The previous low round score for Seaside in my Game Caddie Record Book (GCRB) database was a 64 by Lucas Glover during my 2019 US Open replay. In the second livestream, I mistakenly say that Bryson DeChambeau had earlier shot a 61 at Seaside, but he actually did it at The Stadium Course (TPC Sawgrass) during my 2020 APBA Players Championship. Justin Thomas also shot a 61 at Birthplace (St. Andrews Old Course) during my 2022 Open Championship replay.
What makes Jeff’s feat so incredible is that I have nearly 300 rounds at Seaside recorded with an average score of 72.5. On top of that, his 18 putts for a single round is the best among almost 2,500 rounds of APBA Golf! The next closest number of putts is 20 by Jerry Barber (1961) and Mark Calcavecchia (1989) at Yatch Club (Harbour Town) and Mackenzie Hughes (2023) at Acorn Hill (Oak Hill). I’ll remember this round for a very long time.