It's Hard Not to Root for Sam Burns

👋 {{readername | Hey, golf fans}},

Indeed, Ryan Fox deserved the Open Championship title. It was a long time coming. If you missed last night’s coverage, catch up on it here. But that means multiple players fell short of winning their own maiden major title, including the much-beloved Sam Burns. We talk about that, plus the unfortunate history he made and his class act. Beyond that, we have a breakdown of Scottie Scheffler’s free relief controversy, Cameron Young’s heartbreaking moment, and more. Oh, we’ll also reveal who among you won the Prediction Challenge.

Let’s get started…

They say a little pain is good for the soul, but Sam Burns (3rd), avoiding looking at the final putt of a soon-to-be winner, has started feeling pins and needles now. Even before Ryan Fox (1st) picked up his ball from the 72nd hole, Burns removed his cap and started clapping for the new Open winner with a smile on his face. Watch the classy act here—and the reason why rooting for Burns isn’t tough.

Burns had it in him for the most part. He was two better than everyone else in R3. He was one better walking off the 2nd, then came three bogeys in a row on the front nine. By the 72nd hole, he was two shots worse than Fox, giving Ryan his maiden major.

With that, he also became the first player since Tom Lehman in 1996 and 1997 to lose an outright 54-hole lead in back-to-back years. Since the start of 2024, Burns has given himself at least five chances to lift one of the big trophies, and only in half of those times has he finished in the top 10. In 2024, he blew himself out of contention with a final-round 80. He did the same at Oakmont last year and fell agonizingly short at Shinnecock Hills last month.

The story is somewhat similar to that of Tommy Fleetwood (T4), who now has eight top-five finishes in majors. And Cameron Young (2nd), who has two runner-up finishes here in the last four years. Young was on the range bracing for a playoff when he heard the roar from the 18th green and realized his chances were over. Watch the heartbreaking moment here.

It’s unfortunate, but Burns, Young, and Fleetwood are knocking on the door. It’s a matter of time before they burst it open and announce themselves as major winners.

Ryan Fox won the Open Championship on Sunday. But can you tell how many Kiwi golfers have won a major? 76% of our readers failed.

Tommy Lad: On the 1st, Tommy Fleetwood (-7/T4) drained this massive 73-foot putt for birdie, and the crowd went nuts. But even that didn’t compare to what happened on the 18th green. We bet you have never seen Fleetwood this happy before.

Super fast: Fox is fast, faster than your average Tour player. Take a look here, he took only 10 seconds to hit his tee shot. But that’s not it. Fox took only 22 seconds after Sam Burns’s putt to win The Open—watch the counter here.

Work of art: On the 17th in R3, Lucas Herbert (-6/T6) faced a brutal blind shot to the green from a dune, 239 yards out. From there, he conjured this unbelievable beauty.

Surprise winner: Stefano Mazzoli, the DP World Tour rookie and the winner of the Corales Puntacana Championship, couldn’t stop crying after his maiden PGA Tour win. He even apologized for it, as you can see here. It’s alright, Stefano!

Classy: How classy is Jordan Spieth (+10/MC)? Check out his message to Fleetwood for an answer.

Elsewhere:

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Something weird happened in R4 that has fans confused. On the 17th, Scottie Scheffler hit his second shot over a tented area and was granted relief for a Temporary Immovable Object/Obstruction (TIO). He could not find the ball and yet did not get penalized. Check out the full details here. So, what exactly happened?

However, if it cannot be confirmed that the ball came to rest in TIO, the player has to play under penalty of stroke and distance, i.e., when a ball is unplayable. Check out more confusing rules here.

Scottie Scheffler says the officials need to be stricter in policing players, but shows support for Bryson DeChambeau post-penalty drama.

A two-time PGA Tour winner is reinstated as an amateur, and it isn’t sitting well with anyone.

LIV Golf CEO’s lack of updates on the future of the final stage tournament is pushing pros to the edge. Is it really the end for the league?

With the Open Championship ending, our Essentially Golf Prediction Challenge winner is finalized. The contest was tight, and we had to apply the tiebreaker to determine the final five. So, congratulations to the top five finishers.

To everyone else who played along and shared your picks with us, thanks for being part of the ride. We'll have more such challenges coming up soon. Stay tuned…

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