Sam Burns attempts first TOUR title defense at Valspar Championship

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – Sam Burns is only 25, but he has already experienced a wide spread of emotions when leaving the parking lot on Sunday evenings at the Valspar Championship.

In 2018, at age 21, Burns played his way into the Valspar Championship via a top-10 finish at The Honda Classic, and he entered the final round with a chance at securing PGA TOUR Special Temporary Membership.

He stumbled, though, at No. 16, the opening of the daunting three-hole Snake Pit at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course, making a triple-bogey 7. One more bogey at 18 and a closing 2-over 73 sent him tumbling from T3 to T12, temporarily placing his TOUR dreams on hold.

Looking back, he believes his rocky finish that day was a blessing, sending him back to the Korn Ferry Tour to gather more experience. Last year, with the Valspar Championship positioned in a different date, finishing in early May, Burns stood on the tee at the 475-yard, water-guarded, dogleg-right 16th once more, this time protecting a slim lead. He pounded a tee shot down the fairway, hit a high 7-iron to 18 feet, and buried the putt, prompting some outward emotion from the usually tranquil Louisianan. By the time Burns arrived to 18, he had a four-shot lead, and a closing 3-under 68 paved the way to his first PGA TOUR victory.

It was much nicer pulling out of the parking lot that Sunday with the champion’s bronzed trophy – a long, curvy paintbrush coiled like a snake – in the back of his courtesy car. Four years apart, and both Valspar Championship experiences carried plenty of value. To rewrite his personal story on 16 from disaster to triumph, Burns said on Wednesday, “was really cool.”

“I think you go from hoping that you can win, or thinking that you can win, to believing it when it actually happens,” Burns said. “So I think it kind of propelled me to a really good year last year. I was able to win again this season (Sanderson Farms Championship), this past fall ... so definitely able to kind of look back on those moments and draw upon them.”

Burns has shown an uptick in his game following three missed cuts at the end of the West Coast Swing. He tied for ninth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and shared the 36-hole lead at THE PLAYERS Championship, where he ran out of steam and eventually tied for 26th. He has risen to No. 17 on the Official World Ranking, yet one more twentysomething pushing his way toward the top of the world’s pecking order, looking to bust into the top 10 – maybe higher – soon.

Becoming No. 1? It’s something Burns does think about.

“Obviously, I think it's a goal, but I think it's kind of something that I have a lot of other goals set in place before that,” Burns said. “I think it's kind of a byproduct of a lot of other things, and so (I’m) really just trying to focus on the smaller details, preparation, and trying to improve my game in certain ways.”

For the first time last week, the top five spots in the OWGR were occupied by players in their 20s (that lasts until Thursday, when No. 4 Patrick Cantlay turns 30). Justin Thomas, a former No. 1 now ranked eighth, believes the young players are pushing one another to achieve greater heights, and that’s good for the game. Despite THE PLAYERS finish spilling into Monday, five of the world’s top 10 are competing this week outside Tampa. Seven of the top 10 from Monday’s latest OWGR were players in their 20s.

“Having Patrick Cantlay do what he did last year pushes me to become better,” Thomas said, “and having Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland play as good as they are, and be in contention in all the majors and win the biggest golf tournaments, I mean, yeah, selfishly, the jealous side of me wants that to be me.”

Thomas has played competitive rounds and practice rounds with Burns and has watched on television when Burns has played his way into contention. He is sold on Burns’ well-rounded talents, and he admires the way the LSU product rolls the rock. Burns had some quality chances at winning before breaking through at Innisbrook Resort, but figured out he doesn’t have to change anything, or be perfect, to be the last man standing on Sunday.

“I love his putting stroke. He looks so natural and so comfortable and athletic over the ball, but also relaxed,” Thomas said. “And I like his ball flight. He likes to fade the ball like I do. I was very impressed when I played with him. I think he came out with a ‘no fear’ kind of thing, and expected a lot of himself, and probably felt like he could prove some people wrong, and he's clearly done that.”

Collin Morikawa, 25, a two-time major winner currently ranked No. 2 in the world, said Burns was one of those junior players on the AJGA circuit who everybody knew was groomed for a big future.

I've known Sam since I've been like 13,” Morikawa said. “He's always been a stud. He's always been, him and Scottie (Scheffler), like AJGA guys, those guys were tearing us apart. Those guys were the ones that were winning everything, playing really well. He's always been solid, always a game that I knew was going to be out here on TOUR. He went on TOUR and will be here for a long time. And I've seen it. I think everyone has.”

Burns has four top-10 finishes in 10 starts in 2021-22, and he sits eighth in the season-long FedExCup standings. He was disappointed not to make the United States Ryder Cup team last September, and he appears poised to make that next step as he chases a spot on Davis Love III’s 2022 U.S. Presidents Cup team. Talent-wise, the U.S. side has an embarrassment of riches these days.

Being that the 2021 Valspar Championship was Burns' first TOUR victory, that makes this week his first opportunity to defend a title on the PGA TOUR. All signs are that he is quite ready for the challenge. He’s been groomed for this, after all.

“This being my fourth season out here; I feel really comfortable," Burns said. "I’m just always trying to find ways to improve. It always looks a little bit different, depending on the week and how my game currently is. But I feel really good right now. I’m excited to get this week started.”

Who knows what this week's Sunday exit from Valspar will deliver?