Two Golfers Shoot 59 in 2nd Rd. of Mandela Tourney, but Historic Scores Won't Count

The first two 59s on the European Tour were shot on Friday in South Africa. But the historic scores will not be official because soggy conditions at the Mount Edgecombe Country Club in Durban, South Africa in the Nelson Mandela Championship allowed golfers to place their golf balls before their shots and play from preferred lies. 

Colin Nel and Jorge Campillo shot 11-under-par 59s on Friday in the second round of the Championship in South Africa. 

They recored the first two 59s in the forty-year history of the European Tour, but since European Tour rules do not allow the scores to be official because golfers played from preferred lies, the Tour is still without an official 59. 

The tournament reportedly started a day early to avoid clashing with Sunday’s official funeral for Nelson Mandela. 

Japanese golfer Ryo Ishikawa shot a 58 in a Japan Golf Tour event in 2010. The last golfer on the PGA Tour to shoot a 59 was Jim Furyk–he was the sixth PGA Tour golfer to do so.

photo: Getty