PGA Tour Record for Fewest Putts, 72 Holes
The Record: 92 Putts by David Frost, Denny McCarthy
The PGA Tour record of 92 putts in a four-round tournament is shared by David Frost, who did it first in 1985; and by Denny McCarthy, who matched the mark in 2024. Ninety-two putts for a tournament is an average of 23 putts per round.Frost, throughout his career on the regular tour and also on the senior circuit, had a reputation as one of the great putters. So it's no surprise his name should pop up for this PGA Tour record. At the 2005 MCI Heritage, played at Harbour Town Golf Links, Frost improved on the previous record (93 by Kenny Knox) by one putt.
But Frost didn't win the tournament. In fact, he didn't come close, and after an opening-round 68 didn't even score well: He carded rounds of 75, 74 and 73 after that first round. He finished the tournament at 6-over-par and tied for 38th place.
McCarthy didn't win the tournament either, but he came a lot closer than Frost: McCarthy lost in a playoff at the 2024 Valero Texas Open, played at TPC San Antonio. To match the record of 92 putts, he blazed through the back nine of the final round needing just eight putts. He closed with seven consecutive birdies to tie Akshay Bhatia and force the playoff. But Bhatia came out the winner.
The List: Golfers With Fewest Putts in PGA Tour Tournament (72 Holes)
Note that, like Frost, none of the following golfers won their tournament, either.- 92 putts — Denny McCarthy, 2024 Valero Texas Open, TPC San Antonio, finished solo second (lost playoff)
- 92 putts — David Frost, 2005 MCI Heritage, Harbour Town Golf Links, tied for 38th place
- 93 putts — Max Homa, 2023 Genesis Invitational, Riviera Country Club, finished solo second
- 93 putts — Cameron Smith, 2021 WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational, TPC Southwind, tied for fifth place
- 93 putts — Brian Gay, 2013 WGC Cadillac Championship, TPC Blue Monster at Doral, tied 35th
- 93 putts — Mark Calcavecchia, 2002 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic, Forest Oaks Country Club, solo second
- 93 putts — Kenny Knox, 1989 MCI Heritage Golf Classic, Harbour Town Golf Links, tied fifth
- 94 putts — Bob Tway, 1986 Sea Pines Heritage, Harbour Town Golf Links, tied 15th
- 94 putts — George Archer, 1980 Sea Pines Heritage, Harbour Town Golf Links, tied for 10th place
Who was the first golfer to play a PGA Tour tournament with fewer than 100 putts? Official PGA Tour records on number of putts only go back to 1980. With that caveat in mind, the first golfer known to break the 100-putt mark was Bob Menne. Menne used only 99 putts during the 1977 Tournament Players Championship, which at that time was not yet played at TPC Sawgrass. Sawgrass Country Club was the course where Menne set the then-record.
But Menne's record didn't last long — there was a rapid lowering. Steve Melnyk tied Menne's 99 putts later in the 1980 season (yes, at Harbour Town), and then Archer took the record five putts lower to 94 in the same tournament as Melnyk.
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