# Sam Burns

Samuel Holland Burns (born July 23, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He played his college golf at Louisiana State University. He has won five times on the PGA Tour.

## Amateur career

Burns was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, to Todd and Beth Burns. During his prep career at Calvary Baptist Academy, he was a three-time individual state champion. He was named AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year in 2014. Burns played college golf at Louisiana State University, where he won four tournaments in 15 collegiate starts during his sophomore season. He was named a first-team All-American and was the NCAA Division I Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year for the 2016–17 season. Burns represented the United States on the winning 2017 Arnold Palmer Cup team and he qualified for the PGA Tour's 2017 Barbasol Championship, where he finished T6.

## Professional career

In October 2017, Burns made his PGA Tour debut as a professional at the Sanderson Farms Championship. After finishing T43, he played a week later at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and finished T20. Burns earned guaranteed starts for the first 12 Web.com Tour events of the 2018 season with his T10 finish at the final stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament. He finished T2 at the Colombia Championship in February 2018. Burns finished T7 at the Honda Classic with Tiger Woods as his playing partner in the final round, earning Burns entry into the Valspar Championship, where he finished T12. Burns earned his first professional win at the 2018 Savannah Golf Championship on the Web.com Tour when he birdied each of the final three holes to defeat Roberto Castro by one stroke. He gained a place on the PGA Tour at the end of the 2018 Web.com season.
Burns has played on the PGA Tour since the start of the 2018–19 season. In February 2021, he finished solo third place at the Genesis Invitational, one shot outside of the playoff with Tony Finau and Max Homa, Homa being the eventual winner. Burns held the solo lead at the end of each of the first three rounds but was ultimately caught on the back 9 during the final round. In May, Burns won the Valspar Championship for his first PGA Tour victory. Burns shot a final round 68 to win by three strokes over Keegan Bradley. Two weeks later Burns finished runner-up to K.H. Lee at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
On October 3, 2021, Burns won his second PGA Tour title at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi. On March 20, 2022, Burns won his second consecutive Valspar Championship title, beating Davis Riley in a playoff. On May 29, 2022, Burns won the Charles Schwab Challenge after making a 38-foot birdie putt in a playoff against Scottie Scheffler. Burns overcame a seven stroke deficit to win, matching Nick Price in 1994 for largest comeback in a final round to win at Colonial Country Club.
Burns qualified for the U.S. team at the 2022 Presidents Cup; he tied two and lost three of the five matches he played.
In March 2023, Burns won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, defeating Cameron Young 6 and 5 in the championship match.
Burns was selected as one of Zach Johnson's six captain's picks for the 2023 Ryder Cup, which would mark Burns's first appearance in the event.
In September 2023, Burns played on the U.S. team in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Guidonia, Rome, Italy. The European team won 16.5–11.5 and Burns went 1–2–0 including a loss in his Sunday singles match against Rory McIlroy.

## Personal life

Burns is a Christian. He is married to Caroline Burns. They had a son, named Bear, in 2024.
Burns has been a supporter of Compassion International's "Fill the Stadium" initiative, an initiative "which seeks to provide food, medical supplies and other forms of support to children and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic."

## Amateur wins

* 2014 AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions, Junior PGA Championship
* 2016 David Toms Intercollegiate, Sun Bowl Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic
* 2017 Louisiana Classics, NCAA Baton Rouge Regional

## Professional wins (6)
### PGA Tour wins (5)

* Legend
* World Golf Championships (1)
* Designated events (1)
* Other PGA Tour (4)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | May 2, 2021 | Valspar Championship | 67-63-69-68=267 | −17 | 3 strokes | Keegan Bradley |
| 2 | Oct 3, 2021 | Sanderson Farms Championship | 68-66-65-67=266 | −22 | 1 stroke | Nick Watney, Cameron Young |
| 3 | Mar 20, 2022 | Valspar Championship (2) | 64-67-67-69=267 | −17 | Playoff | Davis Riley |
| 4 | May 29, 2022 | Charles Schwab Challenge | 71-68-67-65=271 | −9 | Playoff | Scottie Scheffler |
| 5 | Mar 26, 2023 | WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play | 6 and 5 | 6 and 5 | 6 and 5 | Cameron Young |
PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 2021 | WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational | Abraham Ancer, Hideki Matsuyama | Ancer won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 2 | 2022 | Valspar Championship | Davis Riley | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 3 | 2022 | Charles Schwab Challenge | Scottie Scheffler | Won with birdie on first extra hole |

### Web.com Tour wins (1)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
| 1 | Apr 1, 2018 | Savannah Golf Championship | 72-65-65-65=267 | −21 | 1 stroke | Roberto Castro |

## Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.
| Tournament | 2016 | 2018 |
| Masters Tournament | | |
| U.S. Open | CUT | T41 |
| The Open Championship | | |
| PGA Championship | | |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Masters Tournament | | | | CUT | T29 | CUT |
| PGA Championship | T29 | | WD | T20 | CUT | CUT |
| U.S. Open | | | CUT | T27 | T32 | T9 |
| The Open Championship | | NT | T76 | T42 | CUT | T31 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place WD = withdrew NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

### Summary

| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 10 |
* Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (2022 PGA – 2023 Masters)
* Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (once)

## Results in The Players Championship

| Tournament | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
| The Players Championship | CUT | T26 | T35 | T45 | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

## World Golf Championships
### Wins (1)

| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
| 2023 | WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play | n/a | 6 and 5 | 6 and 5 | Cameron Young |

### Results timeline

| Tournament | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Championship | | | |
| Match Play | | | 1 |
| Invitational | T2 | | |
| Champions | NT$^1$ | NT$^1$ | |
$^1$Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
"T" = Tied NT = No tournament Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022. The Champions was discontinued from 2023.

## U.S. national team appearances

Amateur
* Junior Ryder Cup: 2014 (winners)
* Arnold Palmer Cup: 2017 (winners)
Professional
* Presidents Cup: 2022 (winners), 2024 (winners)
* Ryder Cup: 2023