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Who will get off to a great start on Thursday and take the early lead as DraftKings’ King of the Course? Follow along below!
How to Play King of the Course
- Opt in to receive your King of the Course token in the Promotions page
- Make an outright winner bet on DraftKings Sportsbook and apply your token (minimum $5 bet)
- If the golfer you wagered on with your token applied records the most birdies or better through the first two rounds of the tournament, win a share of $1 million in bonus bets
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King of the Course Live Updates
Suber Crowned King of the Course (Saturday, 8:50 a.m.)
After an impressive first two rounds at the final major of the season, Jackson Suber earned his crown as King of the Course! Check out the payout to the bettors that put their token on the 26-year-old from the University of Mississippi.
Suber Continues to Hold Commanding Lead (Round 2, 2:50 p.m.)
As he has been since he finished his round early this morning, Jackson Suber is still on top of the King of the Course leaderboard. He made seven par-breakers in his impressive Round 1 and added five more birdies or better on Friday. He doesn’t have the lead in the tournament, since he also had four bogeys and is two strokes behind Lucas Herbert, but no one left on the course seems to have a realistic chance to catch him at this point.
Suber Looking Super (Round 2, 2:12 p.m.)
Almost all the big names in golf have finished up Round 2 at the final major of the season, and right now, it still looks great for Jackson Suber to claim the King of the Course crown this week. Suber has 12 birdies or better through two rounds and is tied for second two strokes behind Lucas Herbert. Herbert has one fewer par-breaker than Suber, though, and no other player active on the coruse has been able to make a serious run at Suber for a while.
Dan Brown and Laurie Canter finished their rounds with 10 birdies or better. On the course, Justin Thomas still officially has a chance, but he would have to birdie four straight holes to close out the round.
Can anyone make a late run? It’s looking unlikely, especially with the greens drying out and putts starting to chatter a little bit.
Could Bryson Make A Run? (Round 2, 12:50 p.m.)
Even after Dan Brown did get another par-breaker to get to 10 birdies or better, his run will come up just short of Jackson Suber’s lead of 12 at the top of the King of the Course leaderboard. Suber’s dozen will be hard for anyone to catch, but one player who could potentially challenge it is Bryson DeChambeau, who made a birdie at No. 9 to get to seven par-breakers for the week. Dechambeau still has eight holes left, so finding five birdies would be tough but not impossible for him on the back nine.
Francesco Molinari and Victor Perez had solid rounds, but they don’t have quite enough holes to catch Suber, so more threats continue to fade as Suber’s mark stands up.
Daniel Brown Moves to Within Striking Distance (Round 2, 12:00 p.m.)
Brown birdied No. 14 to get to nine birdies or better, but he only has three holes left. He would need to birdie all of them to tie Jackson Suber, who continues to hold strong with his lead at 12 birdies at the top of the Kings of the Course leaderboard. There are still plenty of players on the course with enough holes to make a charge, but scoring conditions have gotten more difficult later in the day, which could make it hard for anyone to reel in Suber. Right now, Lucas Herbert is the only player with 11 birdies or better and Laurie Canter (who is also done for the day), is the only player with 10 birdies.
Young and Aberg Finished With Nine (Round 2, 10:40 a.m.)
Two probably popular options for King of the Course contests this week are done for the day after solid rounds that put them in contention for the weekend. Cameron Young turned in his second straight round of -3 to tie Jackson Suber for second place. Ludvig Aberg is further back at T11 after his -4 round on Friday. While both those players are in good position for the tournament, they came up short of challenging for the lead in the Kind of the Course contest. Both players have nine birdies or better for the week, well back of Suber, who stays in the top spot with 12 birdies or better. No player on the course right now is making a run at him, but we’ll continue to watch and see if anyone can get a birdie streak going that would put Suber within reach.
Low Rounds Continue at Royal Birkdale (Round 2, 9:50 a.m.)
With a chip-in on his final hole, Sam Burns matched Lucas Herbert’s eight-under 62, which is tied for the lowest round in the long history of this major. Burns finished with eight birdies on the day and has nine birdies for the championship, which still leaves him three short of Jackson Suber’s lead in the King of the Course standings.
Suber is alone in second place for the tournament but atop the King of the Course leaderboard. His total could stand up for a while, even with the low scores, since he has such a big lead over any player with enough holes still to play. Daniel Brown still stands out as a potential challenger, and we’ll keep a close eye out for anyone who starts to put together a birdie run. Ultimately, the two players who have had the lowest rounds today started too far back to chase him down on the King of the Course lead.
Record-Tying Round Comes Up Short (Round 2, 9:20 a.m.)
LIV Golf player Lucas Herbert is out front at the fourth and final major of the year after matching the single-round record for this tournament, which is the oldest in the world. He finished with an impressive 62 on Friday, racking up nine birdies. He only had two par-breakers in Round 1, though, so he finished the day with 11 birdies or better.
In second place for the tournament, Jackson Suber still holds the lead in the King of the Course contest on DraftKings, since he has 12 birdies or better in his two rounds after five birdies and four bogeys in Round 2.
Who could be next to make a run at Suber in the top spot? Dan Brown is definitely a name to watch since he’s at eight birdies or better with 13 holes left to play. Francesco Molinari and Sungjae Im are sill early in their rounds as well. Herbert’s low round does show the chances are out there, even though ultimately he came up just one birdie short of the top of the leaderboard.
Will Herbert be a Hero? Just one Birdie Back (Round 2, 8:35 a.m.)
Lucas Herbert is turning in an absolutly amazing round this Friday, and he just added another birdie on No. 16. With two holes remaining (including the par-5 No. 17), he is just one birdie behind our King of the Course leader Jackson Suber. Herbert has already piled up an astounding nine birdies in his 16 holes in Round 2, and he was probably not a very popular play with King of the Course tokens, which could lead to a monster payout if he can take or share the lead at the end of the day.
We’ve got some early drama, even though Suber’s total of 12 is very solid and could stand up. It’s also a great sign for later players that low scores and plenty of birdies are out there, putting lots of options in the mix for late charges on the leaderboard for the tournament and for the King of the Course title.
Need More Morikawa? (Round 2, 8:32 a.m.)
While Jackson Suber has set a very high standard with his 12 par-breakers to lead the King of the Course contest after his first two rounds, the course is presenting plenty of birdie chances for players to make a run at him throughout the day. While Lucas Herbert has taken the lead for the tournament, he may not have enough time to catch Suber.
Another early challenger to Suber was 2021 Champion Golfer of the Year Collin Morikawa, who has moved into third place with three birdies and no bogeys on the day. He has eight birdies or better in his two rounds, but still trails Suber by four with just four holes left to play.
Hello, Herbert! (Round 2, 8:08 a.m.)
Jackson Suber continued his impressive debut at this major with a one-under round on Friday. Even though he didn’t go as low as he did in Round 1, when he was five under, he still made an impressive five more birdies to go with his four bogeys. He has set the early pace on the King of the Course leaderboard, and the mark is a high one at 12 birdies or better through his first two rounds.
One player already trying to reel him in is the leader of the tournament, Lucas Herbert. The 30-year-old Aussie already has eight birdies and has jumped out to a two-stroke lead with four holes left to play. He has 10 birdies or better and will look to match or pass Suber’s total by the end of his second round. Laurie Canter also has 10 par-breakers for the week but is done for the day.
Nobody catching Jackson Suber and Daniel Brown (Round 1, 3:31 p.m.)
The first round is about to finish up with only about 20 golfers still on the course. None of these player can catch Suber and Brown, making these two the leaders for King of the Course after the first round. Both players finished with seven birdies or better. Trailing them with six birdies or better is Francesco Molinari and Alex Smalley.
Collin Morikawa cools down (Round 1, 3:03 p.m.)
After racking up five birdies in his first 10 holes, Morikawa goes without a birdie in his final eight holes of the day.
Pierceson Coody making moves (Round 1, 1:45 p.m.)
Coody is another debutant that is thriving during the first round at Royal Birkdale. The 26-year-old sits at -4 heading to the 18th and he has tallied five birdies today. Haotong Li, who has two top-five finishes at this major on his resume, also recorded five birdies in the first round. A huge group of 13 players now have five birdies or better today, which is two behind our King of the Course leaders, Jackson Suber and Daniel Brown.
Jackson Suber ties the lead (Round 1, 12:40 p.m.)
Suber continues to flourish in his opening round at Royal Birkdale, birding the No.16 par four and eagling the No.17 par five, which is the first eagle of this championship. Suber impressively put it to just under seven feet on his approach on the par five and then drained the putt. Suber now has seven birdies or better on his scorecard, putting him in a tie with Daniel Brown for the King of the Course.
Collin Morikawa coming alive (Round 1, 12:37 p.m.)
Coming off a career-low 9-under 61 at TPC River Highlands, Morikawa has been stellar to begin this major, posting five birdies in his first 10 holes. With eight holes left, Morikawa should continue to work his way up the King of the Course Leaderboard.
Jackson Suber off to strong start (Round 1, 12:00 p.m.)
Suber has finished inside the top-six in three of his last six starts and this form has carried over to the first round at Royal Birkdale. Despite this being his first start at this major, Suber has produced five birdies in his first 15 holes. The 26-year-old’s flat stick has been hot, ranking seventh in SGP so far.
Nick Taylor joins group with five birdies or better (Round 1, 11:12 a.m.)
Taylor closed his 2-under 68 first round at Royal Birkdale with a birdie on the 18th hole, sinking a putt from just about 20 feet. This marked Taylor’s fifth birdie of the day and there are now eight players with five birdies or better, which is two back of the King of the Course leader in Daniel Brown.
Bryson DeChambeau moving up (Round 1, 10:42 a.m.)
After missing the cut at the first three majors of the season, many expected DeChambeau’s struggles to continue at Royal Birkdale. Well, the bomber has proved those doubters wrong, thus far. DeChambeau carded a 3-under 67 in the first round and he produced five birdies along the way. There are now seven players with five birdies or better with the only one still on the course being Laurie Canter, who has five holes left to play, including two par fives. Daniel Brown still sits atop the King of the Course leaderboard, however, with seven birdies or better and Francesco Molanri and Alex Smalley are one behind him with six birdies each.
Laurie Canter cooking early (Round 1, 10:18 a.m.)
Canter has only played 12 holes at Royal Birkdale, but he has already carded five birdies, including back-to-back birdies on holes 11 and 12. The Englishman is two birdies or better back of Daniel Brown on the King of the Course leaderboard, but Canter still has six holes remaining to catch Brown.
Ryan Gerard getting hot (Round 1, 9:47 a.m.)
Gerard has never competed at this major before, but he is looking like an experienced links player this morning at Royal Birkdale. Gerard has already converted five birdies in his first 14 holes. The 26-year-old still has the No.17 par five to play, which has been the easiest hole so far in the first round, so Gerard finishing with at least six birdies or better is definitely possible. Gerard is one of five players with five birdies or better, but he is the only player of this group that is still on the course.
Daniel Brown Leads the Way Early (Round 1, 9:30 a.m.)
Brown got off to a hot start at Royal Birkdale on Thursday, carding a four-under 66 in the first round. He racked up seven birdies in the process, making him the current leader for King of the Course. Brown was red-hot to end this round, carding all seven of his birdies in his final 11 holes. Sitting one back of Brown on the King of the Course leaderboard with six birdies apiece is 2018 champion Francesco Molinari and Alex Smalley.
