By John Frierson
Staff Writer

The scorecard always tells the story, though never the full one. Sometimes, though, the final tally at the end, it brings about a host of questions.

For example, how, back on Oct. 28, did Georgia freshman JD Culbreth shoot a school-record 61 in the second round of the Ka’anapali Classic in Maui, Hawaii? One reason is that he’s very talented. Another is that he played about as well as he ever has.

“I’ve never shot that low in a tournament,” Culbreth said. “I’ve played very well before, but that was a lot of fun.”

Over 18 holes on the Royal Ka’anapali Golf Course, Culbreth made a 4 on a hole eight times, made a 3 nine times, and made a 2 on one of the par-3s. His 10-under round didn’t include a five on the scorecard, but he did have a bogey, making a four on the par-3 second hole, his 16th hole of the round.

“You kind of feel like everything’s easy when in reality, it’s not,” Culbreth said. “It’s just a good feeling. You don’t get it much, obviously, especially in tournaments. It’s just fun to have it all come together like that.”

In the opening round, when some of his competitors were going low, as low as 9-under, Culbreth shot 1-under. “I putted horrible,” he said. “I kind of found something the last two holes that day, and I knew I figured out my putting going into the second round.”

The Royal Ka’anapali Golf Course offers stunning visuals and an interesting array of shots. But it needs a strong breeze to keep top-level players from going on the attack. During the Ka’anapali Classic, when every team in the top 10 wound up -24 or better at the end, there wasn’t much wind.

“When the wind doesn’t blow out there, it makes the course a little bit more gettable,” Georgia head coach Chris Haack said, “but 61? I don’t care if it’s perfectly still, you’ve still got to play some amazing golf to shoot 61. It was a remarkable round.”

Because five other Bulldogs were also in action on the course, four of them shooting under par that day, Haack wasn’t able to follow Culbreth’s round too closely. “I only got to see a few holes here and there, but it seemed like every time I did see him, he was making birdie. You’ve got to make quite a few to shoot 61,” he said.

When a player has it going, Haack said he tries to leave them alone as much as possible — not unlike how everyone in the dugout stays away from a pitcher with a no-hitter or perfect game going.

“He was doing fine without me,” Haack said. “I didn’t know he was shooting that low — I wasn’t keeping up with it — I just knew he was playing well. I try to stay out of the way, especially if they’ve got it going pretty good.”

At a program like Georgia, which produces loads of All-Americans, future PGA Tour winners, and even some major champions, Culbreth’s 10-under stands alone. The previous school record of 9-under for a round was held by Peter Persons (1984) and Davis Thompson (2018).

“It’s really cool,” Culbreth said of having the record, “especially since I’m just getting here. But, I mean, so many of the guys who played here before me, they’ve already made it on the PGA Tour. I had one good round, so I got a long way to go.”

Culbreth is proud of his 61, which also tied the course record, and proud of the golf he had to play to go so low, but he’s also quick to point out that he didn’t take medalist honors. In fact, he and teammate Carter Loflin, a senior, tied for seventh at -13. Oklahoma’s Ryder Cowan finished the three rounds at -20 to win the individual event, and the Sooners ran away with the team title with a total of 63-under; Georgia was third at 47-under, the second-lowest score in program history.

“You’ve got to put it all together, and (the Sooners) sure did that,” Culbreth said.

The Ka’anapali Classic was the Bulldogs’ final tournament of the fall, and they won’t return to tournament play until Feb. 9, when they compete in the Puerto Rico Classic. For Culbreth, the next few months will be about getting better in all areas of his game.

“I feel like I have a ton to work on. Even (at the Ka’anapali Classic), I had a lot of things I could definitely sharpen up,” he said.

Culbreth’s 61 wasn’t life-changing, but it was a special round of golf. It also showed him what he’s capable of when he puts everything together.

“It makes you realize you have it,” he said. “I think everybody out there knows they have it; it’s just a lot of self-belief and just putting in the work and realizing what you need to work on.”

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.