HARTFORD, Conn. — Jake Beber-Frankel, the 17-year-old son of Academy Award-winning director David Frankel, shot a 10-under 60 on Wednesday for the lowest score in the history of the Boys Junior PGA Championship.
Beber-Frankel, from Miami, closed with a par on the ninth hole at Keney Park Golf Course, missing a chance to shoot 59.
“I actually thought of a 59 on my 10th or 11th hole,” said Beber-Frankel, a Stanford commit.
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas are among the many PGA Tour stars who have played in the event, with Akshay Bhatia setting the previous record of 61 in 2017 at the Country Club of St. Albans outside St. Louis.
Wearing a fluorescent green headband, Beber-Frankel played each nine in 5-under 30. He birdied four of the first five holes.
“I knew right then that it could be a good day,” he said.
He also birdied No. 16. On the second nine, he birdied Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8.
Beber-Frankel was second at 13 under after 36 holes, a stroke behind Canon Claycomb of Bowling Green, Kentucky, with two rounds left. The 17-year-old Claycomb, an Alabama commit, followed his opening 62 with a 64 to break the tournament 36-hole mark.
David Frankel won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for his 1996 film Dear Diary. He later directed “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Marley & Me” and “Hope Springs” and “The Big Year.” Beber-Frankel’s grandfather, Max Frankel, is a journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1973 while with The New York Times.