JOURNAL SPORTS
Shreveport native Sam Burns tees off in the 2023 PGA Championship at 12:31 CST today, taking his next shot at a breakthrough finish in one of golf’s four major events.
The tourney is being played at storied Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., where a frost warning is expected overnight.
Burns enters play 14th in the Official World Golf Rankings with five PGA Tour victories, notably the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas, in March. The former Calvary Baptist star and LSU All-American stands 11th in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup point standings.
His best finish in a major came at last year’s PGA Championship in Tulsa, when he was in the top 10 during the final round and settled for a tie for 20th as Justin Thomas won in a playoff. He was also among the leaders in April at The Masters until a third-round 78 dropped him out of contention, but Burns finished even par on Sunday, 1-over for the tournament and tied for 29th.
Burns has earned $5,854,275 in the 2023 season, topped by the $3.5 million winner’s check from the Match Play, and has just over $27 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour — $17 million in the last three seasons.
He will play with 20-year-old sensation Tom Kim and Abraham Ancer in the first two rounds of the PGA Championship, teeing off on the back nine today and on the front nine at 7:06 a.m. CST on Friday.
ESPN will provide afternoon live coverage beginning at noon today and Friday, with CBS taking the weekend.
Burns’ team in Rochester includes caddy Travis Perkins and his coach, Brad Pullen, the head professional at Burns’ home course, Squire Creek in Choudrant.
