He was taking college final exams two weeks ago, but Friday, Patrick Cantlay shot a course-record 60 on his way to taking the clubhouse lead at the Travelers Championship.
The UCLA sophomore shot eight birdies and an eagle to get to the mark, breaking the previous record of 61 held by several professional golfers, including former champion Phil Mickelson.
"It was a good round and I played really well and nothing bad happened," Cantlay said. "I'm really proud of it, but I've got a couple of more rounds to play."
Cantlay, who has retained his amateur status, had to play 36 holes Friday because his start Thursday was washed out by rain. He didn't finish round two until about 7:30 p.m. Friday.
After the eagle on the par-5 13th hole, Cantlay birdied 14, then made a 7-foot put for birdie on 17. His drive on 18 found the center of the fairway, and from 152 yards, he hit an 8-iron to 2 feet. He holed the putt for the record-breaking 60.
He becomes the first amateur in history to shoot a 60 in a PGA Tour event, and only the 24th player to ever shoot that score on tour.
Cantlay was given a sponsor's exemption to enter the tournament after finishing tied for 21st at the U.S. Open last week.
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He will have to wait until late in the day on Saturday to begin his third round. Nearly half the field will have to finish round two Saturday morning, after Thursday's bad weather pushed much of the first round to Friday.
Five golfers are four shots back of Cantlay. Defending champion Bubba Watson is eight shots off the lead.
