Tag: Sam Burns

Sam Burns credits discipline, caddie for four-shot lead at Vivint Houston Open

Sam Burns is looking for his first PGA Tour win at the Vivint Houston Open. A 65 in Friday’s second round could propel him.

Will anyone catch Sam Burns?

The 24-year-old leapt from T-3 to first on Friday at the Vivint Houston Open after carding a bogey-free 5-under 65 in the second round. Not only does Burns hold the lead after the morning wave, he held it by four — yes, four — shots.

Burns began his round with a bang, birdieing three of his first four holes. He added on another birdie on the par-5 eighth to sit 4 under at the turn. Burns carded his fifth birdie on the par-5 16th and had a chance for his sixth birdie of the day on the 18th with a 27-foot, 10-inch putt, but he settled for par.

One of the areas in which Burns was solid Friday was on the par-5s. Memorial Park Golf only has three par 5s and Burns birdied all three during the second round. On Thursday, he birdied 8 and 16, but bogeyed 3.

Burns’ 65 in the second round is significant considering the difficulty of Memorial Park Golf, which is hosting its first Tour event in nearly 50 years. It also ties lowest round of the tournament so far, following Brandt Snedeker’s first-round 65.

HOUSTON OPEN: Tee times, TV info | Leaderboard

Even more impressive, Burns hit 15-of-18 greens on Friday. Burns credited his ability to find the greens to building off his first-round 68 and learning the features course, and his overall second-round success his caddie, Travis Perkins.

Sam Burns during the second round of the 2020 Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, Texas. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

“Yeah, I think Travis did a great job all day just trying to put us in the right spots and I think we were able to do that for the most part. I think that’s the challenging part of this golf course, it takes a lot of discipline around here,” Burns said. “You get out of position, you just try to get it back to where you can get it up and down or get it in a section of the green where you can lag putt it. Fortunately early we got some good looks and was able to convert, so solid.”

The Shreveport, Louisiana, native is looking for his first PGA Tour win. His best finish on Tour was third at the 2018 Sanderson Farms Championship. Last season, Burns had one top 10 at the American Express (T-6) and made 11 cuts out of 19 events. His only professional win was on the Korn Ferry Tour at the 2017 Savannah Golf Championship.

This season, Burns already has one top 10 finish at the Safeway Open where he finished T-7 at 17 under. He said Friday he’s is building off that experience in Houston.

“Yeah, I think (being in contention taught me about) slowing down a little bit, really talking through the shot with Travis and making sure we have a clear picture of what we’re trying to do, I think that was really helpful to learn that,” Burns said.

Burns walked off the course as 36-hole leader at 7 under, four shots ahead of Snedeker.

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After enduring Hurricane Laura, Sam Burns storms to lead at Safeway Open

Sam Burns shot 65 on Friday to grab a 2-stroke lead over Harry Higgs at the Safeway Open.

NAPA, California – Just a few weeks ago, after Hurricane Laura battered the Louisiana community that he calls home, Sam Burns grabbed a chainsaw and chopped down a tree that fell in a neighbor’s driveway across the street.

“I just tried to help out where I could,” he said. “I don’t think I did a whole lot, but I just tried to be a helping hand.”

It puts a water ball and subsequent double bogey at the par-3 11th hole, Burns’s second hole of the day at Silverado Resort and Spa’s North Course, in proper perspective, but it doesn’t mean Burns didn’t simmer on the inside.

“It pissed me off a little bit, woke me up, I guess,” he said. “It picked me up, like, ‘Hey, let’s go.’ Just kind of stuck with it and the golf course opened up for me the rest of the day.”

Did it ever. Burns birdied the next three holes and eight in a 12-hole span to shoot 7-under 65 and open a two-stroke lead over Harry Higgs after the second round of the Safeway Open.

SAFEWAY OPEN: Leaderboard | Tee times, TV info

Burns, 24, is another up-and-coming American pro who has floated under the radar as the likes of Collin Morikawa, Matt Wolff, Norway’s Viktor Hovland won tournaments, and, more recently, Scottie Scheffler, have made headlines. But Burns has an impressive pedigree too: 2014 AJGA Rolex Junior Player of the Year; a three-time state champion at Louisiana; All-American and Jack Nicklaus Award winner in 2016-17. He’s confident his time will come.

“Comparison is kind of the thief of joy. I try to stay as far away from that as possible,” he said. “There’s no timeline for me.”

That timeline could accelerate if he continues playing the way he has during the opening two rounds. Despite the early double bogey, Burns improved to 15-under 129 and hit 16 of 18 greens in the second round and ranks first in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-green. He credited his strong ballstriking performance to his ability to adjust quickly to a new set of irons he put in the bag this week.

“Some of the guys at Callaway came to my house last week and we worked on some stuff with my irons, put the new irons in play. So far, they’ve been pretty good,” He said.

Burns is making his 61st Tour start this week and if anything has slowed his progression, it may be due to breaking his right ankle in July 2019, which forced him to miss the rest of the 2018-19 season.

“I came back and tried to play in the fall but came back too early, just really bothered by my ankle,” said Burns, who made his first FedEx Cup Playoff appearance and finished No. 111 in the standings.

Higgs shot the low round of the day, a bogey-free 62 that included a walk-off albatross.

Australian Cameron Percy (64-68), American D.J. Trahan and Scot Russell Knox (63-69) shared third. Knox, the overnight leader, was stuck in neutral most of the day, but finished with birdies on the final two holes and drew inspiration from the U.S. Open tennis.

“I watched a great tennis match last night, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka. Azarenka got dominated the first set. It was amazing so watch her pump herself up. Her body language changed and it was really amazing how she lifted her level of play and was able to go on and win the match,” Knox said. “Kind of inspired me to try and do that today. I mean, when things were kind of in neutral, I was like, you know what, let’s get going here. A little Friday fist pumps never hurt anyone.”

Doug Ghim (66), one of 13 players who had to finish his first round in the morning, and James Hahn (65), who has 14 events remaining on a medical exemption to regain his playing privileges, are tied for six at 11 under.

“I’m just counting down the number of tournaments that I have remaining,” Hahn said. “Just kind of walking the course today, I was just kind of telling myself I have 14 opportunities to win a golf tournament and from there, you know, whatever happens, whether they let me keep playing or whether they tell me to go home, I think I’m just going to go out and try to give it my all.”

Phil Mickelson birdied three holes in a row beginning at No. 8 and posted a bogey-free round of 67.

“I needed to go a little bit lower, but I’ve got a chance if I go really low tomorrow, 8- 9-under, to get myself in it for Sunday,” Mickelson said.

Major winners Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia and Shane Lowry won’t have that chance as they were among the casualties of the 36-hole cut.

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Honda Classic odds, predictions, picks and PGA Tour best bets

Analyzing the golf betting odds to win the 2020 Honda Classic, with PGA Tour betting odds, picks, predictions and best bets.

The PGA Tour begins its four-event Florida swing with this week’s Honda Classic. Just three of the top 10 players in the world, according to the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings are in the field this week. Many of the world’s top golfers are taking the week off ahead of next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship the following week.

The key stats for the 7,125-yard, par-70 PGA National are:

  • Strokes Gained: Ball Striking
  • SG: Approach
  • Birdies or Better Gained
  • Sand Saves Gained
  • Par 4 Efficiency: 400-450 Yards
  • Strokes Gained: Scrambling

My model at Fantasy National looks at the most recent 36 rounds for each golfer in the field on courses shorter than 7,200 yards.

Honda Classic – Tier 1

Feb 20, 2020; Mexico City, MEX; Tommy Fleetwood reacts after playing his shot from the 14th tee during the first round of the WGC – Mexico Championship golf tournament at Club de Golf Chapultepec. (Photo Credit: Orlando Ramirez – USA TODAY Sports)

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 12:30 a.m. ET.

Tommy Fleetwood (+1000)

At No. 5 in the Golfweek rankings, Fleetwood is the top golfer in attendance. He also leads my stat model for the week on his strengths in SG: Ball Striking and Par 4 Efficiency. He finished fourth here in 2018 before skipping last year’s event.

Fleetwood is one of the more precise and accurate golfers in the world, and the forced layups off the tees at PGA National will play to his advantage as golfers need to navigate their way around the course. He’s a chalky play as the tournament favorite, but it worked for us last week with Viktor Hovland at the Puerto Rico Open.

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Billy Horschel (+2800)

Horschel has finished T-9 at each of his last two events – last week’s WGC-Mexico Championship and the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He tied for 16th at last year’s tournament following a missed cut in 2018. He finished T-4 and T-8 in 2017 and 2016, respectively. Like Fleetwood, he’s a great irons player.

Honda Classic – Tier 2

Jan 24, 2020; San Diego, California, USA; Matthew Wolff plays his shot from the 18th tee during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Course – North Course. (Photo Credit: Orlando Ramirez – USA TODAY Sports)

Matthew Wolff (+8000)

Wolff took last week off following a missed cut at the Genesis Invitational. He had previously missed the cut at the WMPO. While he ranks just 72nd overall by the stat model, he’s 18th in Birdies or Better Gained on shorter courses.

Luke List (+9000)

List’s advantage in length is largely negated at PGA National due to the forced layups off the tee. He was the runner-up to Rickie Fowler in 2018 and he tied for 10th in 2016. He’s on a streak of three straight made cuts.

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Honda Classic – Longshots

Apr 21, 2019; Hilton Head, SC, USA; Sam Burns tees off on the second hole during the final round of the RBC Heritage golf tournament at Harbour Town Golf Links. (Photo Credit: Joshua S. Kelly – USA TODAY Sports)

Sam Burns (+10000)

Burns’ odds are attractive following a T-8 finish in 2018. He followed it up with a T-73 last year, but he’s coming off a T-23 result in a much stronger field at the Genesis Invitational. He can score low on shorter courses.

Dylan Frittelli (+15000)

Frittelli excels on par 4’s ranging from 400-450 yards. He missed the cut last year on the heels of an 11th-place finish in 2018. He hasn’t found top form since his breakthrough win at last year’s John Deere Classic, but he picked up top-10 finishes at the Sanderson Farms Championship and Safeway Open earlier in the 2019-20 season. These odds are far too high for someone with a Masters invite already secured.

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