Sam Burns shot a final-round 3-under 67 to claim a three-shot victory at the Valspar Championship.
The 24-year old Louisiana native entered Sunday’s finale at Innisbrook Resort tied for the lead on 14 under with Keegan Bradley, and through 12 more holes at the Copperhead course, the overnight leaders remained tied at 17 under. But on the par-3 13th, Bradley landed his tee ball in the water, leading to a double bogey 5, then dropped another shot on 15 to fall three back.
And that’s how it ended.
Burns finished 17-under par 267, while Bradley was runner-up on 14 under.
For his maiden PGA Tour victory, Burns earned $1,242,000 and 500 FedExCup points. He will move to No. 14 in the FedExCup standings, and No. 21 on the money list. He also picked up 54 Official World Golf Ranking points and will crack the top 50 (from 94) for the first time in his career.
For his second-place finish, Bradley earned $752,100 and 300 FedExCup points. He also secured 32 world-ranking points and will move back into the top 75 (from No. 135).
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Sam Burns Pro-File
Name: Sam Burns
Nationality: American
Height: 6′ 1″
Weight: 185 lb
Birthdate: July 23, 1996 (age 24)
Native: Shreveport, Louisiana
Resides: Choudrant, Louisiana
College: LSU
Equipment:Callaway
Valspar Championship: Top 5
Pos-Player-To Par (Final Rd)
1. Sam Burns -17 (-3)
2. Keegan Bradley -14 (E)
3. Viktor Hovland -13 (-6)
3. Cameron Tringale -13 (-3)
5. Abraham Ancer -12 (-2)
h4
Top Check Cashers: Top 5
Pos-Player-To Par (Final Rd)
1. Burns ($1,242,000)
2. Bradley ($752,100)
3. Hovland ($407,100)
3. Tringale ($407,100)
5. Ancer ($282,900)
Sam Burns’ Winning Stats
Top-line Stats
Driving: 304.5 (T19)
Fairways: 34/52, 65.8% (T33)
Greens: 42/72, 58.3% (T55)
Putts/Per GIR: 1.571 (5th)
Scores: 2 Eagles, 21 Birdies, 41 Pars, 8 Bogeys
Strokes Gained
Off the Tee: 2.290 (16th)
Approach the Green: 3.712 (14th)
Around the Green: 1.637 (23rd)
Putting: 9.096 (3rd)
Tee to Green: 7.638 (5th)
Total: 16.735 (1st)
Burns’ Winning Highlights
Sam Burns claimed his first PGA Tour victory at the 2021 Valspar Championship with rounds of 67-63-69-68 to finish 17-under-par at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course.
Watch more PGA Tour video highlights.
Burns’ 2021 PGA Tour Season
Starts: 15
Cuts Made: 10
Wins: 1 (Valspar)
Additional Top 10: 3
Earnings: $2,787,474 (21)
FedExCup Pts: 1,097 (14)
World Rank Before/After: 94/45
WITB: Sam Burns
Sam Burns plays a full Callaway bag including a Mavrik driver, Apex irons, Mack Daddy wedges, Odyssey putter, and a Chrome ball.
Driver: Mavrik (10.5°)
Metal: Mavrik Sub Zero (15°)
Hybrid: Apex Pro 15 (23°)
Irons: Apex TCB (4-9)
Gap : JAWS MD5 (46°, 50°)
Sand: JAWS MD5 (56Ëš)
Lob: JAWS MD5 (58Ëš)
Putter: Odyssey O-Works 7S
Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft X
Clothing: Adidas
Quotable
Trust in Jesus Christ
Q. When you come out here after a good college career and then obviously in 2018 all the success, it probably can be easy to be impatient about winning, but it sounds like you have a really good perspective on the close calls before. Is there someone who is helped you with that perspective or where does it kind of come from?
SAM BURNS: “Yeah, I think Jesus Christ. I think just knowing that my timeline isn’t always best, my timing isn’t always right.
“So just trusting, knowing that, if I don’t win, I can be okay with that. If I do, you know, give Him the glory.
“So just being able to trust that — and obviously at times it’s frustrating, you want things to happen, but just really deep down believing that His timing is perfect and His plan is perfect and so just trying to trust in that.”
Credits: Getty Images, PGA Tour Media
