As we all know, keeping the ball in play in golf is crucial if you're going to fire a low score. If you hit the ball wayward, chances are you aren't going to create many birdies...
If you need further proof, then why not check out Hiroyuki Fujita, who currently leads the 2024 US Senior Open at Newport Country Club, with the Japanese player breaking a record in the process!
The leader is locked in.Hiroyuki Fujita just broke the record for most consecutive fairways hit (32) at the U.S. Senior Open since 1997. pic.twitter.com/zNFJguNjmLJune 30, 2024
As the video above shows, Fujita managed to hit 32 consecutive fairways at the third men's senior Major of 2024, with his tee shot at the second hole finding the short grass to bypass the record that has stood since 1997.
What's more, Fujita continued his fairway hitting numbers further, as he found the third, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th to keep the streak going at an incredible 38, before play was eventually suspended due to a dangerous weather situation.
As of writing, and with play still suspended, Fujita has six holes remaining which are par fours and fives, so his record could, in theory, stretch to 44, which would decimate the previous record of 32.
Although Fujita's record is impressive, he still has some way to go to beat Adam Long's PGA Tour record of 69 consecutive fairways hit. Long achieved the feat in 2023, and the record included hitting 56 of 56 fairways at the 2023 World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico.
However, it's unlikely that Fujita will care much about the fairway record, especially as the 18-time Japan Golf Tour winner is three strokes clear of recent Senior PGA Championship champion, Richard Bland. Fujita sits at 16-under and is searching for, arguably, the biggest win of his established career.
Having featured in the world's top-50 before, Fujita's first professional victory came all the way back in 1997, with the Japanese star's most successful year coming in 2012, when he won four tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour. He went on to finish the season as the leading money winner and was voted the most valuable player.
