Watch Sam Burns walk down the fairway. There’s a little swagger, like a mini DJ. Burns’ strut isn’t overly confident, but there’s just enough to tell you he’ll crush anything in his way to win.
So when Burns came down the three-hole stretch at the Valspar Championship, better known as the “Snake Pit”, he barely looked up, didn’t take any extra breaths, or any more practice swings than normal.
He walked off the 18th green with a three-shot win at the always-challenging Copperhead Course, and that’s when the tear ducts went to work.
“I’ve worked so hard for this moment,” Burns, 24, said, a tear slipping through, surrounded by his family and wife of 18 months. “It’s a dream come true.”
Burns’ first PGA TOUR win vaulted him 33 spots to No. 14 in the FedExCup standings.
BY THE NUMBERS
1 – Spot at the top of the FedExCup standings for Justin Thomas, who moved ahead of Bryson DeChambeau following the Valspar Championship.
24 – Teams competing this week at the 2021 PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course. The PWCC, considered to be the most culturally significant championship in collegiate golf, features Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) from all over the country.
3 – Times Sam Burns has held the 54-hole lead or co-lead this season, which is tied for the most with Jordan Spieth. Burns closed on Sunday to win the Valspar Championship.
5 – Shots Dean Burmester won by at the Tenerife Open on the European Tour. He shot 62 in the final round, earning him his first win in nearly four years.
