Date: May 18, 2012
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Aussie Gibson shoots record 55

Courtesy of the Oklahoma Golf Association Lismore born professional Rhein Gibson shot at least a tie for the lowest known 18-hole score in the history of golf on Saturday when he blazed his way to a 16-under-par 55 at River Oaks Country Club in Edmond. River Oaks is a par 71 which measures 6,698 yards from the tips and was playing close to that, according to owner Andy McCormick. Gibson made 12 birdies and two eagles along with four pars. Thanks to texting and twitter, some 30 folks had gathered to watch by the final hole, where he rolled in a 5-foot birdie putt for the 55. “Pretty surreal,” said Gibson, a native of Lismore on the east coast of Australia and a 2008 graduate of Oklahoma Christian, where he was a four-time first-team All-American. Gibson is also the 2008 Oklahoma Golf Association State Amateur Champion and the 2010 Oklahoma Open champion. “I really wasn&apost nervous on those last few holes. By then, I knew I was in the 50s so it was just a matter of how low it was going to be. I would be more nervous over a 3-foot putt to make a cut.” The round was witnessed by Ryan Munson, an Edmond-based financial adviser and volunteer with the Folds of Honor Foundation, and Eric Fox, a former collegiate golfer for Southwestern Oklahoma now a land man in Edmond. Both verified to Golf Oklahoma that even though the players battled mud balls from overnight rains on Friday, the ball was played down throughout and all putts holed out.