"It seems that’s the recipe for good golf" - Finnish tour pro Lauri Ruuska on shooting 59 on the Challenge Tour hours after ice hockey outing

Finnish tour professional Lauri Ruuska recently achieved an incredible record that the likes of Jim Furyk, Scottie Scheffler, and a handful of golfers have once achieved in his career. He shot a round of 59 during a Challenge Tor's event, Vierumaki Finnish Challenge, on his home soil.

The Finland native shot a round of 9 under 59 with the help of 10 birdies and an eagle. While speaking about scoring the tied second-lowest round score of golf, Ruuska, as quoted by Golf Digest, said:

"It sounds pretty amazing to be part of the 59 club. Honestly, I knew it was going to be a low-scoring week and I saw myself being able to do it, but I didn’t quite believe it."

Interestingly, the moment came just after a day he had a refreshing round of ice hockey. Speaking on playing an intense round at Vierumaki Respot, the golfer said:

"Obviously, I need to get back to the rink (laughs). Actually, my legs felt really good from yesterday, but my hands from here, are still a bit stiff and the forearms as well. But it seems that’s the recipe for good golf."

Lauri Ruuska shared that hitting a round of 59 in his homeland was equally special as scoring in any major tournament.

"Where else would you want to shoot a 59? Maybe at a Major Championship, but to do it at home is really special," Ruuska said.

However, he did miss to equal Bryson DeChambeau's most recond round of 58 playing in the LIV Golf league, but, a round of 59 is also a special one.

Lauri Ruuska also became the only fourth player in Challenge Tour's history to break inside the score of 60. Alejandro del Rey shot 58 in the 2021 Swiss Challenge, while the other two shot 59, Adrien Mork in the 2006 Tikida Hotels Agadir Moroccan Classic and Nicolo Ravano in the 2016 Fred Olsen Challenge de Espana.

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Where is Lauri Ruuska placed in the OWGR? Exploring the Finnish tour pro's record in 2023

While this may come as surprising that the 29-year-old golfer is 1089th on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). However, his career-best rank was 549th.

In 15 starts this season, Lauri Ruuska has made the cut only in six appearances. His best performance came at the 2023 Big Green Egg German Challenge (sanctioned by Challenge Tour) where he finished T6, his only top-10 finish this year.

Following are the leaderboard standings of Lauri Ruuska in 2023:

Challenge Tour

• Farmsfood Scottish Challenge - T12
• Irish Challenge - T32
• Big Green Egg German Challenge - T6
• Euran Bank Open - Missed the Cut
• Open de Bretagne - T36
• Kaska da Golf Challenge - Missed the Cut
• Andalucía Challenge de Cadiz - Missed the Cut
• D+D Real Czech Challenge - T22
• B-NL Challenge Trophy - Missed the Cut
• The Challenge presented by KGA - Missed the Cut (co-sanctioned by PGTI)
• Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge - Missed the Cut

Nordic Golf League

• Skane Challenge by Ahlsell - Missed the Cut
• Golfkusten Blekinge by Scandic Hotels - T26
• ECCO Tour Livescoring - Missed the Cut
• Camiral Golf & Wellness Championship - Missed the Cut

However, Lauri Ruuska is currently leading the table in the ongoing Vierumaki Finnish Challenge and will hope for a top finish at the event.