Rotherham Golf Club-based PGA professional James Freeman achieved one of golf’s greatest feats as he shot 59 in the Midland Open at Whittington Heath.
James – who has shot 60 before in his professional career and once recorded a nine under-par round in a pro am in Portugal – returned the 12 under-par score in the opening round of the PGA Open Series event.
He made 12 birdies by the time he reached the 18th tee box. At this point, his nerves might have been jangling, but this wasn’t the case for James.
“I realised I was eight under-par through 10 holes, and then I birdied 12, and then I birdied 13 as well. I was thinking to myself then, ‘What’s par?’ I need two more. I then birdied 16, and then 17,” he said.
“To be honest, I just thought, ‘Right, make a par up the last and you’ve done it’. I had very good realisation of what I was doing. But this time, I just didn’t put the handbrake on. Sometimes you do, don’t you? You put your handbrake on and just think eight under-par is a good score, but I didn’t this time. I just kept going for it.
“I was staying aggressive. I hit a drive down there about 350 yards and I had 119 yards left. I just went for it – I didn’t hang back! I hit it slightly short of where I wanted. I was in between clubs. I went for the 54-degree wedge. I was a bit pumped up because I was thinking I’ve got to try and just finish the job. I two-putted from about 28ft, just under the hole.”
James’ 59 was the product of superb form in the build-up to the Midland Open. He won the PGA in Yorkshire’s Burstwick Pro Am in May, took home first prize in the professional event at the Andrew Murray Charity Pro Am at Bramhall, and shared the spoils with Ryan O’Neill at the Brough Classic.
He also won the North of England Championship Pro Am at Oakdale after finishing in a tie for second place in the Northern Open at Royal Dornoch. It was on his way to Dornoch when something was triggered in his mind and his run of good form began.
“I went to visit an old golf club that my grandparents were members of, which is on the way to Royal Dornoch (Kingussie Golf Club),” he said.
“I’m not spiritual at all, but from then on, I just seemed to play really well. If you look at my results from Dornoch onwards, I’ve been right there.
“I know it sounds like a cliché, but I’ve been trending. I’d shot a bogey-free six-under at Bramhall in the Andrew Murray Pro Am, and I shot a bogey-free six-under at Bowood, so I’ve been showing signs of very good scores.”
Just 22 of the 59 shots that James hit in round one were putts – and his short game is something he focuses on with his coach, Graham Walker, who he has worked with for more than 20 years.
There was a time when competitive golf might have been off the table for James. He had back surgery in 2011, after which a consultant told him that playing golf to a top standard might not be possible anymore. He has also had an anterior cruciate ligament replacement in his knee.
After four years of recovering from injuries, plus working as a coach at Rotherham, he has gradually brought himself back to playing golf of the highest quality.
“You can’t quite realise what you’ve accomplished until maybe down the line. It’s the holy grail, isn’t it? 59 is unbelievable when you say it out loud, not many pros to get to do it, and not many players at all do it. It’s crazy.”
James went on to shoot a 69 in round two to finish on 14 under-par for the event – earning him a second-place finish behind Niall Kearney – who shot rounds of 65 and 60 en route to a 17 under-par total.
