Ex-LSU golfer Sam Burns captures PGA TOUR playoff win at Charles Schwab Challenge

Baton Rouge, La. – Former LSU men’s golfer Sam Burns won his third PGA Tour title of the 2021-22 season on Sunday afternoon at the Charles Schwab Challenge at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. It was a 38-footer with the good ole Texas wedge that found the center of the cup to give Burns a playoff win over the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler.

Final Leaderboard

“When I got in to the clubhouse, I thought 10 (under par) was going to be the number,” Burns said after his fourth career PGA Tour win. “I did not envy those guys who were out on the course after I finished. It was a really hard golf course with lots of wind.

“I’m pretty exhausted. Mentally I was prepared to go as long as it took (in the playoff). I don’t know if I could have done it physically. But mentally I was ready. When coach calls your name, you’ve got to be ready to play, and I think we did a really good job of being ready.”

When Sunday began, not too many people expected Burns to be in this position. His total after the first three days of the tournament was at 4-under 206, seven strokes behind the aforementioned Scheffler. Burns teed off at 11:50 a.m. CT, a little under an hour and a half before the leaders. He came out the gates blazing with a 5-under 30 on the front that included six birdies, two pars, and a bogey. He made the turn and birdied No. 11 to get to 6-under for the round before a bogey on No. 12 brought him back to 5-under for the day. He closed out the round with six straight pars to get into the clubhouse at 9-under 271 for the tournament.

That’s when the windy conditions and firm greens picked up, and consequently, chaos ensued. Scheffler had to make several clutch par putts to remain tied with Burns on the leaderboard, but the rest of the contenders at the tournament flailed away. Burns’ 5-under 65 was even more impressive as the course average on Sunday resulted in a 72.3, more than two shots over par.

Burns and Scheffler, two great friends, went back to the No. 18 tee for the start of the playoff. Burns bombed a 301 yard 3-wood down the fairway, exactly 20 yards ahead of Scheffler. Scheffler played first from the fairway and landed his 159-yard approach shot on the green, about 36 feet away from the hole. Burns launched a gap wedge that initially landed on the green but bounced off the back of the green due to the firmness. Burns pulled out the putter from just off the green and connected on the 38 foot, two inch putt that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Scheffler’s bid to match Burns was no good, and Burns was crowned the champion.

The win bumps Burns up to the No. 2 spot in the 2021-22 FedEx Cup Standings with 2,101 points on the season. Only Scheffler, at 3,142, has more points on the season. Burns bagged just north of $1.5 million in prize money for his win. But maybe more neat, he was gifted a fully restored and modernized 1979 Firebird Trans Am with the world ‘Schwab’ inscribed in multiple places on the car.

Burns At LSU
Played two seasons with the Tigers before electing to turn professional following his sophomore season in the summer of 2017 … Finished his career with a 71.13 scoring average in 27 tournament appearances for the Tigers … Set LSU’s single-season scoring record with a career-low 70.05 stroke average as a sophomore in 2016-17 … The top player in college golf during his sophomore season while being named the NCAA Division I Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year and a PING First-Team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America … Also named the SEC Player of the Year and a First-Team All-SEC selection in 2017 … A two-time All-American as he also earned PING Honorable Mention All-America honors as a freshman in 2015-16 … Won four tournament titles during his collegiate career … Also earned 15 top-10 and 22 top-20 finishes among his 27 tournament appearances at LSU … Winner of the 2017 Arnold Palmer Cup as a member of Team USA.