JOURNAL SPORTS
A birdie on the 17th hole Thursday gave Sam Burns a 1-under par opening round in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
The Shreveport native and Calvary Baptist graduate is part of a group tied for 20th in the 156-man field, three shots off the pace going into today’s second round.
Burns birdied both par 5s on the outward nine but soon followed each with a bogey on a par-4. He parred every hole other than the 17th on the closing nine. There, his approach settled within eight feet and he buried the putt.
Today, after an early start in Round 1, Burns goes out in one of the final 10 groups in the afternoon in Ireland, which means an 8:48 a.m. CT tee time.
Today’s TV coverage for Burns’ round will be on USA Network.
Saturday coverage will begin at 4 a.m. CT and Sunday at 3 a.m. CT on USA Network with NBC Sports coverage beginning at 6 a.m. both days for the final two rounds.
The lead is shared by five golfers at 4-under-par, as Matt Fitzpatrick, Harris English, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Jacob Skow Olesen and Haotong Li all going round in 67 shots in changing conditions, marked by intermittent rain and erratic winds.
Scottie Scheffler, the pre-tourney favorite, birdied two of the last three holes to finish in a tie one shot back at 68.
Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Rickie Fowler and 2023 Open champion Brian Harman were tied at 2-under.
Among those joining Burns at 1-under 70 were another tournament favorite, Masters champion Rory McIlroy, and stars including Phil Mickelson, John Rahm, Shane Lowry, Sergio Garcia and Zach Johnson.
The 28-year-old Choudrant resident is one of 22 golfers who made the cut in all three of the 2025 majors – The Masters, PGA and U.S. Open. Burns is on a current streak of five consecutive majors with made cuts.
He is 22nd in the Official World Golf Rankings, 13th among Americans as he eyes a second USA Ryder Cup Team invitation next month. A dozen Americans will make the team.
He is paired for the first 36 holes with five-time major champion Brooks Koepka, who was 4-over Thursday, and South African Aldrich Potgieter(+6). About half the field will make the cut, currently projected at 1-over, likely to dip to 2-over as scoring will likely still be challenging in rain and wind.
Burns, who plays out of Squire Creek Country Club in Lincoln Parish, has seven top 20 finishes in his last 10 outings.