WiretoWire: Burns bests bracket at WGC-Dell

SAM BURNS WINS WGC-DELL MATCH PLAY IN EMPHATIC FASHION

It’s a marathon, not a sprint, they say about professional golf, a cliché best epitomized on the weekend at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, where players must navigate four matches in two days to take the title, after three days of group play. Sam Burns channeled this steady energy to earn his fifth career PGA TOUR title Sunday at Austin Country Club. Burns’ weekend included a Round of 16 victory over Patrick Cantlay, 2 and 1, a Quarterfinal win over Mackenzie Hughes, 3 and 2, and a Sunday morning Semifinal win over good friend Scottie Scheffler in 21 holes. Burns then sprinted to the finish in the Championship match against Cameron Young, making eight birdies in 13 holes, including four consecutive birdies to close the match on the 13th hole, 6 and 5. Burns trailed Young through four holes Sunday afternoon at Austin CC, but the Louisiana native made birdie at the fifth to win the hole and tie the match, and it was off to the races from there. Scheffler had a short birdie try on the second extra hole of their Semifinal match to advance to the final, but it slid by, and Burns took advantage of his second chance with a 15-foot winning birdie on the next hole. Against the second-year TOUR pro Young, who finished runner-up in two majors as a rookie, Burns maximized his moment. The LSU alum accrues 550 FedExCup points, ascending from No. 52 to No. 8 on the season-long standings. Don’t expect that ascent to slow anytime soon.

MATT WALLACE BREAKS THROUGH AT CORALES PUNTACANA

Matt Wallace earned his maiden PGA TOUR title at the Corales Puntacana Championship, carding a four-round total of 19 under at Corales GC for a one-stroke victory over Nicolai Hojgaard. Wallace had captured four DP World Tour titles but never emerged victorious on the PGA TOUR, and that changed with a sterling 6-under 66 in the final round in the Dominican Republic, emerging from a bunched board with four consecutive back-nine birdies, Nos. 13-16. Wallace moves from 108th to 45th in the season-long FedExCup standings, and he’s now fully exempt on TOUR through 2025. “Everyone knows I’m a feisty character, but that got me through that today,” Wallace said after his victory. “I was calm, felt I was determined. Felt like I had it in me all week.” He certainly did.

TOUR TRAVELS TO TPC SAN ANTONIO

The 101st Valero Texas Open tees off in San Antonio and it’s the final opportunity for the PGA TOUR’s best to try to earn a spot in the Masters. Rickie Fowler is teeing it up at TPC San Antonio eager to return to the Masters. Fowler, who has missed only one cut this season, will need a win to make it to Augusta. J.J. Spaun returns to the site of his first PGA TOUR title. Spaun is looking to become the first golfer to defend his title at TPC San Antonio since Zach Johnson in 2008-09. TPC San Antonio plays host to the Valero Texas Open for the 13th time. Featuring just 100 feet of elevation, the Oaks Course boasts a traditional design that balances wider fairways with narrower tree-lined fairways for strategic options into the greens. If the winner of the Valero Texas Open is not yet qualified for the Masters, he will earn the final spot in the field as well as 500 FedExCup points.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

MIC CHECK

“This is where I cut my teeth on how I played the game, so I figured, ‘Why not?’ Why not finish it out right here and walk off into the sunset?” – John Cook, a 21-time winner across the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions, who retired from professional golf Sunday after completing the final round of The Galleri Classic at Mission Hills CC in the Coachella Valley, where he developed his game as a kid.

BY THE NUMBERS

20 - Birdies this week for David Toms, most in the field at The Galleri Classic, as he captured his second PGA TOUR Champions title of the season with a 16-under effort at Mission Hills CC, four strokes clear of reigning Charles Schwab Cup champion Steven Alker.

1 - David Skinns moves to No. 1 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List with an emotional victory at the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club in Savannah, his third Korn Ferry Tour title but his first with his wife and kids in attendance.

COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10

The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.