- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,225,572
- Reaction score
- 59
About 30 minutes after Lucas Herbert made history at the 2026 Open Championship by tying the lowest score ever recorded at a major, Sam Burns matched him with a magical finish to his Round 2 at Royal Birkdale.
Burns' bunker shot from 12 yards out on No. 18 bounced a few times on the fringe around the green, then trickled into the hole for perhaps the most unlikely of his eight birdies on Friday, July 17. Suddenly, the 29-year-old American who came up just short at the U.S. Open last month had matched Herbert's feat with an 8-under 62, tying the lowest 18-hole score ever recorded at a major.
Burns ended his second round in a tie for third at 5-under for the Open Championship and moved up more than 100 spots on the leaderboard after carding an opening-round 73 he closed with three-straight bogeys. The chip shot from the sand at No. 18 on Friday capped a sequence on the back nine in which Burns had six birdies, including those same final three holes he struggled with a day earlier.
ANALYSIS: Bryson DeChambeau is a major threat again. Thank Scottie Scheffler
"I don't know if I could tell you what the difference in 11 shots was. I think today I had a lot of things go my way, which is obviously what you need to shoot 62," Burns said in a post-round interview during the USA Sports broadcast. "I feel like I gave myself a few more chances on the front and then got off to a nice start on the back nine. It was really a tough finish yesterday, just kind of careless to bogey the last three holes. But very proud of that round of golf today."
Known for his play around the greens, Burns needed just 21 putts over 18 holes. His Round 2 score of 62 also included a 13-yard chip from the rough at No. 16 and several tap-ins after beautiful approach shots. He called his final bunker shot and his hole out on the 16th "lucky."
Burns nearly skipped this year's final major altogether. He was planning to remain at home for the birth of his second child, according to PGATour.com, but Belle Burns was born early on July 3. Sam Burns then made a late decision to come overseas to play the Open Championship this week.
The five-time PGA Tour winner has several top-10 finishes at majors in recent years, and nearly came-from-behind in the final round of the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills before coming in second place, one shot back of winner Wyndham Clark.
Burns doesn't necessarily think that experience is directly applicable to what he'll need to overcome at Royal Birkdale to win the Claret Jug this year.
"I think it feels a little bit different in the sense of links golf," Burns said. "You don't ever feel super comfortable in links golf, just because there are so many different variables you're playing for, so I think it makes you focus even more on each shot. There's just so many options that you really have to make sure you're not committing to one thing. I like that aspect of it, and still learning to accept where the ball ends up here. It's a tough thing to do sometimes here, when you think you have a great shot that catches a slope and goes in the side of a pot bunker and you have to hit backwards. Hopefully none of that this weekend."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sam Burns' chip-in finish sparks record-tying 62 at Open Championship
Continue reading...
Burns' bunker shot from 12 yards out on No. 18 bounced a few times on the fringe around the green, then trickled into the hole for perhaps the most unlikely of his eight birdies on Friday, July 17. Suddenly, the 29-year-old American who came up just short at the U.S. Open last month had matched Herbert's feat with an 8-under 62, tying the lowest 18-hole score ever recorded at a major.
Burns ended his second round in a tie for third at 5-under for the Open Championship and moved up more than 100 spots on the leaderboard after carding an opening-round 73 he closed with three-straight bogeys. The chip shot from the sand at No. 18 on Friday capped a sequence on the back nine in which Burns had six birdies, including those same final three holes he struggled with a day earlier.
ANALYSIS: Bryson DeChambeau is a major threat again. Thank Scottie Scheffler
"I don't know if I could tell you what the difference in 11 shots was. I think today I had a lot of things go my way, which is obviously what you need to shoot 62," Burns said in a post-round interview during the USA Sports broadcast. "I feel like I gave myself a few more chances on the front and then got off to a nice start on the back nine. It was really a tough finish yesterday, just kind of careless to bogey the last three holes. But very proud of that round of golf today."
Known for his play around the greens, Burns needed just 21 putts over 18 holes. His Round 2 score of 62 also included a 13-yard chip from the rough at No. 16 and several tap-ins after beautiful approach shots. He called his final bunker shot and his hole out on the 16th "lucky."
Burns nearly skipped this year's final major altogether. He was planning to remain at home for the birth of his second child, according to PGATour.com, but Belle Burns was born early on July 3. Sam Burns then made a late decision to come overseas to play the Open Championship this week.
The five-time PGA Tour winner has several top-10 finishes at majors in recent years, and nearly came-from-behind in the final round of the 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills before coming in second place, one shot back of winner Wyndham Clark.
Burns doesn't necessarily think that experience is directly applicable to what he'll need to overcome at Royal Birkdale to win the Claret Jug this year.
"I think it feels a little bit different in the sense of links golf," Burns said. "You don't ever feel super comfortable in links golf, just because there are so many different variables you're playing for, so I think it makes you focus even more on each shot. There's just so many options that you really have to make sure you're not committing to one thing. I like that aspect of it, and still learning to accept where the ball ends up here. It's a tough thing to do sometimes here, when you think you have a great shot that catches a slope and goes in the side of a pot bunker and you have to hit backwards. Hopefully none of that this weekend."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sam Burns' chip-in finish sparks record-tying 62 at Open Championship
Continue reading...
