With the win at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Sam Burns ticked a key box. He was at the Colonial Country Club when David Toms won in 2011, and when on Sunday he beat close friend and World No 1 Scottie Scheffler in the playoff, Burns replicated the feat of mentor Toms.
Excerpts from an interview:
We’d like to welcome the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge champion Sam Burns into the interview room. What a day. A hard day but one that you will always remember, a dream come true for you to win here at Colonial.
Sam Burns: Absolutely. Starting the day seven back, I figured how tough it was going to be playing that if I went out and posted a really good number, who knows what can
happen. Scottie (Scheffler) has been playing unbelievable. I mean, it’s just a really hard golf course with a lot of wind and crazy things happen, and fortunately I was able to sneak into a playoff and obviously make that putt there on 18.
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Tell us what you saw on that putt.
Burns: Yeah, so we were about 10 yards closer from the fairway, had 140, and we were trying to hit like a 125 gap wedge. Just got hit with a lot of wind and just snuck over the back of the green, but not a bad spot. Pretty straightforward putt. A little downhill, breaking left to right the whole way, played it about a foot out and just tried to match the speed up. I honestly thought it was going to be a little bit short when I hit it, and that’s kind of why my reaction was what it was. I thought I left it short. Yeah, I mean, to see that go in, that was obviously really cool, and yeah.
Related: Sam Burns better than Scottie Scheffler at Charles Schwab Challenge
You don’t move up much, but you do move up one spot in the FedExCup standings to No. 2 now. Talk a little bit about your goals for the rest of the year. Have they changed any now or still pretty much the same?
Burns: Yeah, I feel like I have to win a few more times to catch Scottie. But yeah, just trying to put myself in that position more often, as much as I can the rest of the year, and see what happens.
You said you needed a really good number. When you walked off 18 what did you think you needed?
Burns: I thought I needed to make that putt on 18 in regulation to get to 10, and to be honest I thought I did make it. I hit a really good putt and just missed barely low. But then I started thinking about worrying and sitting there with Travis, some of those holes on the back just plays so tough with that wind direction. So just — it’s tough to get the ball close, especially if you’re not hitting the fairway.
How did you stay loose during that break and what did you do between your round and the playoff?
Burns: Yeah, I just hung out in player dining for a bit with my family. Probably when Scottie was on 16 I went to the gym and kind of loosened up again for about 15 or 20 minutes and then came back, put my golf shoes on and then Travis and I went out and hit a few putts and hit some golf balls.
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What was it like, you and Scottie obviously are really good friends. Just talk about that aspect of it, you guys being in a position (indiscernible)?
Burns: Yeah, we’re probably best friends. But at the same time I can assure you, he wanted to beat me more than anybody else and I wanted to beat him more than anybody else, and it just happened to be the two of us at the end. Yeah, it’s going to be a fun story that we’ll get to have for the rest of our careers, and fortunately I got the better end of it this time, but hopefully we’re at the beginning of these situations in the future.
You’ve mentioned before coming here as a child and watching this tournament. Just talk about the emotion and just the significance of coming back and
winning this tournament.
Burns: Yeah, back in 2011 I was here when David Toms won. Been a mentor of mine, great friend of my family, and I remember being there whenever he holed a wedge on 11, and walked around with Carter for a couple days. That was really fun, and memories that I still think about. It was funny, I actually saw his wedge in there in the dining — I’m assuming it’s the one he made the wedge shot with. But yeah, it’s really cool, and I can’t wait to give him a text and have my name up there next to his.
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