Old 55 Flashback: Blancas Posted One In Competition

Nothing can take away from Rhein Gibson's 55 last weekend, but it's a nice occasion to revisit Homero Blancas's 55 in competition, as recalled in this 2001 story by Bill Fields.

For years Blancas' feat was listed in the Guinness Book of Records, but it was purged when the recordkeepers limited their low golf scores to those shot on courses of at least 6,561 yards in length, and at 5,002 yards, the funky, claustrophobic par-70 Premier GC--on which two slightly different sets of tees formulated 18 holes fraught with out of bounds and creeks--didn't qualify. But if you're the man who had the 55, the lowest competitive score any golfer has ever shot, there is nothing but beauty in the details.

How many golfers ever made Ripley's Believe It Or Not? How many other players have made 13 birdies and an eagle, totaled 27 for one nine and 28 for the other, hit 17 greens in regulation and required only 20 putts? "And the thing is," says Blancas, "I shot 62 in the morning. That might be the most amazing thing."