Corey Pavin set a record for the lowest nine-hole score in U.S. PGA Tour history today, shooting an 8-under-par 26 to begin his opening round at the U.S. Bank Championship. He finished with a 9-under 61.
The 46-year-old Pavin, who won the U.S. Open in 1995, started with birdies on eight of the first nine holes at the Brown Deer Park Golf Course in Milwaukee. Par for the front nine is 34, with five par-4 holes, three par-3s and one par-5.
Mike Souchak, Andy North, Billy Mayfair and Robert Gamez held the PGA Tour's previous nine-hole scoring record of 27.
Mayfair and Gamez share the PGA Tour record for the most strokes under par for nine holes. Both were 9-under on courses that had a nine-hole par of 36.
Pavin had just one birdie on the par-36 back nine and finished two strokes off the PGA Tour's 18-hole scoring record of 59, held by Al Geiberger, Chip Beck and David Duval. Pavin has a three-shot lead over Arjun Atwal.
Pavin, a 14-time winner on the PGA Tour, is seeking his first win since the 1996 Colonial.
Many of the world's top-ranked golfers are skipping the $3.5 million U.S. Bank Championship after last week's British Open. Nick O'Hern, at No. 28, is the highest-ranked player in the field.