Adam Long sets PGA TOUR record with 69 consecutive fairways hit

Adam Long set the PGA TOUR record for consecutive fairways hit Thursday during the first round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Long hit 69 fairways in a row, passing the previous record of 59 set by Brian Claar in 1992. He missed the fairway on the par-4 15th at Port Royal Golf Course to snap the streak.

Long entered the tournament with 58 consecutive fairways hit, dating back to the 16th hole of his final round of the Shriners Children’s Open. He became the first player since Claar in 1992 to hit every fairway in a single tournament, going 56-for-56 at last week’s World Wide Technology Championship.

There was still another record to break. He needed to hit his first two fairways of Thursday’s opening round at Port Royal to set the record. He found the fairway on the narrow par-4 first hole to tie the record, then hit the par-5 second hole to set the record.

“Had everyone not come up and said something to me the last 24 hours, I probably wouldn't think about it as much as I did,” Long said post-round. “But it was in my mind, for sure, to start. Hit a hybrid on the first and then the second fairway's really hard to hit. Luckily it was kind of into the wind so I hit a driver and hung in the fairway somehow and perfectly in the middle, so after that I was just kind of coasting.”

Coasting is an apt descriptor. He proceeded to hit the next nine fairways for good measure, jumping out to 5 under through 14 holes. The streak ended on the par-4 15th, though, as Long’s tee ball found the rough, ending the streak at 69.

“It was a 3-wood that I kind of hit up in the air a little too spinny and the wind caught it,” Long said. “Didn't quite go far enough so it stayed in the rough. Yeah, it was a little bit of relief that that part was over.”

Long began the week 138th in the FedExCup Fall, on the outside looking in. The top 125 earn full status for the 2024 PGA TOUR season. With the help of his driving accuracy prowess, Long finished at 5-under 66, pushing himself up the leaderboard and closer to a top-125 spot. He will need to continue playing well, from the fairway or the rough, to lock up his TOUR card for next season.

“It’s something I’ll be able to say forever,” Long told PGATOUR.com of his performance in Mexico, “some sort of bragging rights or an interesting stat at trivia nights.”