British Open 2017: 5 things we learned

4. Branden Grace could be a big-time sleeper moving forward

There’s a viable chance that many casual golf fans weren’t wholly aware of who Branden Grace was prior to the third round of the British Open. He definitely made sure you knew his name after his performance on Saturday, however. Grace reeled off a bogey-free 62, the first ever 62 in a men’s major championship round. Into the record books he went and up the leaderboard he shot after that score.

Grace wrapped up his time at Royal Birkdale with an even-par 70 to finish tied for sixth in the tournament. That’s his best finish in The Open Championship to date, which is obviously aided by his unreal third round. However, it’s also indicative of the fact that the South African isn’t a player that you should overlook.

The 29-year old has only one PGA Tour win in his career to this point, but he’s been enjoying one of the best years of his career to this point. Sure, this week was only his second top-10 finish this season, but he’s been remarkably consistent overall. He’s made six top-25s to this point in 2017, but more impressively, has only missed one cut in 16 tournaments played (he did withdraw from The Honda Classic). That says something about his level of play right now.

Obviously Grace isn’t going to be on the level of the guys like Spieth and his fellow young golfers that dominate the PGA Tour’s headlines. But at the same time, he’s a player that’s really in a groove this year, and his 62 could be the start of him finally breaking out and proving himself.