Lowest round in Masters history: Any round, opening round and more

Viktor Hovland came out firing on the first day of The Masters to begin the 2023 tournament, shooting a 5-under 31 on the front-nine and jumping out to a multi-stroke lead, even with a number of other great players in contention and trailing him.

Ultimately, Hovland didn't convert the lowest round in the history of The Masters and finished the day tied for the lead with a 7-under 65 with Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka.

But that low round and every time someone is ready to go low at Augusta National Golf Club has golf fans asking about the lowest round in Masters history. So we’re looking at the history of that, the lowest opening round ever at Augusta, and the lowest 72-hole score for the tournament as well.

Lowest round in Masters history

The Masters record for the lowest round ever recorded at Augusta National is held by two men. It’s a 9-under 63. Nick Price was the first to do it, accomplishing the remarkable feat in 1986. Greg Norman, ironically, is the other to shoot 63 at the major in a single round, doing so in 1996. Neither player, however, went on to don the Green Jacket.

Lowest opening round in Masters history

As fate would have it, the lowest opening round in the history of The Masters is the same as the lowest round ever recorded at Augusta. Norman’s 63 in 1996 was in the opening round of the tournament. He led after each of the first three rounds but shot a 6-over 78 in the final round to fall into second place as Nick Faldo captured his third victory in the tournament.

Lowest final round in Masters history

Finishing strong at Augusta National is the dream and, while no one has matched the 63 of Norman and Price, the lowest final round at The Masters is a 64, which has been done on eight separate occasions. Maurice Bembrige was the first to accomplish that in 1974 while Rory McIlroy is the most recent, doing so on Sunday in 2022.

Here are all eight players to shoot a 64 on Sunday in the final round of The Masters:

• Maurice Bembridge (1974)
• Hale Irwin (1975)
• Gary Player (1978)
• Greg Norman (1988)
• David Toms (1998)
• Bo Van Pelt (2012)
• Jordan Spieth (2018)
• Rory McIlroy (2022)

Lowest 72-hole score in Masters history

Dustin Johnson set the Masters record for the lowest 72-hole score in the COVID-delayed 2020 tournament when he shot a 268 total score, good for 20-under. However, with the November conditions much different than normal, most people tend to look at the actual record as being the one initially set by Tiger Woods in 1997 and then tied by Jordan Spieth in 2015 as both players shot 270, which is 18-under par.

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