ST LOUIS – Charl Schwartzel roared into contention in the US PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club in St Louis, on Friday, shooting a second round 63 and equalling the lowest round in the history of this tournament.
It was a day of low scoring and history-making as first Brooks Koepka became the 15th player to record a 63 at the season's fourth Major.
Schwartzel then became number 16, with both men having putts to match Branden Grace's all-time low for all Majors of 62.
It was only the second time that two men had signed for 63s on the same day at one of golf's big four events after Tom Weiskopf and Jack Nicklaus in the second round of the 1980 US Open.
When the dust settled, however, Schwartzel was more focused on adding a second Major title to his 2011 Masters win than he was on his incredible performance.
As things stand he has a two-round total of 133, three behind leader Gary Woodland with some players unable to complete their second rounds because of thunderstorms.
"I'm looking forward to playing on the weekend and competing in a Major," he said. "It doesn't get better than that.
"It's about time. There's been ups and downs and I just feel like I'm starting to play a better golf game.
"It's a good position to be in and there's a lot of holes to be played. I think on this golf course, you're going to have to keep firing.
"Most Majors, the weekends get difficult, but I think on this course you're going to have to keep shooting birdies."
A hot putter handed Schwartzel a birdie-birdie start but he bogeyed the sixth before bouncing back with birdies on the seventh and eighth.
The 33-year-old made another at the 10th and a stunning tee-shot on the 16th set up a birdie and then came his chance of shooting a 62 from 50 feet on the last.
"In the practice rounds, I thought you've got a good chance of shooting a low score," he said.
"I was hitting a lot of drivers. If you're hitting it down in the fairway with the way the greens are designed, you can get the ball to about 15 feet on almost every hole."