Sam Burns entered the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship with an opportunity to challenge Scottie Scheffler for the opening title of the FedExCup Playoffs. Burns began Sunday two shots behind the world No. 1 after a third-round 62 moved him into the final pairing at TPC Southwind.
The gap widened considerably over the final 18 holes. Burns shot a 3-over 73 to finish tied for third at 8-under, nine shots behind Scheffler, who closed with a 66 to win at 17-under. Despite the difficult finish, Burns moved two places to sixth in the FedExCup standings and will continue his playoff run at the BMW Championship.
Burns acknowledged that his driving caused problems throughout the week. He also revealed that he had not practiced extensively during his three weeks away from competition because he and his family have a newborn.
Sam Burns Opens Up About Newborn After Difficult FedEx St. Jude Finish
Burns entered Sunday at 11-under and only two strokes behind Scheffler. However, his challenge quickly lost momentum when he made a double bogey on the par-5 third hole.
Another bogey followed at No. 5 before Burns made his first birdie at the seventh. He dropped further shots at Nos. 10 and 13, then responded with birdies at Nos. 14 and 16. A bogey on the 18th completed his 73.
After the round, Burns pointed to his performance off the tee as one of the biggest issues.
“I just looked at my stats for the week. I think I finished — I lost like 2 1/2 strokes off the tee. It’s not a golf course you want to do that on,” Burns said.
“I just played out of position a lot today. It’s a really, really difficult golf course from the rough, and unfortunately, I was in the rough a lot.”
Burns then provided some personal context for his preparation. He said golf had not been his primary focus during his recent time at home because of the arrival of his newborn.
“I was just saying, honestly, the last three weeks at home I didn’t do a ton of golf. We have a newborn. It was nice to kind of come here and see where my game is. Obviously I have some work to do to get ready for next week with some longer clubs.”
Despite his final-round struggles, Burns was encouraged by other parts of his game.
“Yeah, I hit the ball really nicely with my irons. I putted it good. Overall I feel really good going into the next two weeks,” he said.
Sam Burns Reacts to Scottie Scheffler’s Eight-Shot Victory
While Burns struggled, Scheffler pulled away from the field. His final-round 66 took him to 17-under and produced an eight-shot victory over Si Woo Kim.
Burns finished another shot behind in a tie for third. He admitted that overcoming Scheffler would have required an exceptional final round.
“I think everyone knew that coming into the day. I knew he was going to put a solid round together,” Burns said. “Honestly it was going to be really difficult — what did he finish, at 17?”
“I would have had to play pretty much a perfect round of golf to have a chance today, and I didn’t come close to that. Yeah, he played exactly how I expected him to.”
The result still strengthened Burns’ FedExCup position. He climbed from eighth to sixth in the standings after his tie for third and advanced comfortably to the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club.
The top 50 players move on to the second playoff event, while only the top 30 after the BMW Championship will advance to the Tour Championship at East Lake.
Burns now has two more potential weeks remaining in the FedExCup Playoffs. After testing his game in Memphis following three weeks at home, he leaves TPC Southwind with a clear area to address and an improved position in the standings.
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