Kevin Sutherland joins golf`s 59-club during Champions Tour

Johannesburg: American golfer Kevin Sutherland joined one of golf`s most exclusive clubs on Saturday, as he fired away a 59 in the second round of the Champions Tour tournament at En-Joie Golf Club. Sutherland became the first to shoot golf`s magic number on the tour for over-50s, with a 13-under par round, which included 12 birdies, one eagle and one bogey. The bogey came at the final hole of the par-72 layout, ending his bid for a 58. If it had not been for a bogey, his 58 would have been a first in an event sanctioned by the US PGA Tour, which runs the Champions Tour, Sport24 reported. Sutherland, whose only PGA Tour victory was at the 2002 World Golf Championships Match Play Championship, had seven birdies and an eagle in his first eight holes and admitted he was thinking 59 even before he reached the turn. Sutherland said that when he was nine under after eight he started thinking 59 earlier than he should, but he added that it worked out all right. Only six players have posted 59s on the US PGA Tour, the most recent coming from Jim Furyk at the BMW Championship in Chicago last September. In 2010, both Paul Goydos and Australian Stuart Appleby achieved the feat. David Duval, Chip Beck and Al Geiberger have also done it, the report added.