By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
MEMPHIS – It was a rather big surprise that Sam Burns played in the British Open, and even more surprising, he nearly won it.
Four weeks later, a lot of golf experts won’t be surprised if he wins this week in his return to the PGA Tour at the FedEx St. Jude Championship beginning today at TPC Southwind, in a field of the 69 most successful players this season.
Burns hasn’t played since his third-place finish in The Open Championship. He teed it up at Royal Birkdale 11 days after wife Caroline gave birth to the couple’s second child, and she encouraged him to travel to England for the final major championship of 2026.
That came on the heels of what everybody, including Burns, thought was his last major of the year, the U.S. Open, where he was runner-up after burning the right edge of the cup on a missed 17-footer for a tying birdie on the last hole.
Burns has five career Tour victories, but none since 2023. His performances this spring and summer, combined with his history on this course, have analysts listing him as either the top pick to win, or among the top 5-6 contenders.
‘With a pair of top-five finishes at TPC Southwind and three Top 5s across his past five events to go along with a sterling statistical profile, Burns is set to take a run at winning again this week,” wrote Neil Painter of Covers.com, shared by YahooSports.com.
“We need a golfer who knows this golf course. We need a golfer who can putt. We need a golfer who can embrace hot conditions. Burns? Well, he fits all three asks,” offered Thomas Carelli of Draft Kings, picking the Shreveport native and Calvary Baptist product to win.
From Pat Mayo of Underdog, as carried by Golf Digest: “He enters having gained off the tee and on approach in five straight starts, with three top-five finishes and no result worse than T-20.”
Also in the same Golf Digest preview, Keith Stewart of Read the Line said, “If there was ever a venue built for Sam Burns’ 2026 season, TPC Southwind is the place. A fantastic Southern scorer, Burns has five career PGA Tour wins south of Fort Worth. Bermuda Burns is back, and the combination of his excellent iron play, driver acumen and tour-leading putting, Sam is poised to take home title No. 6.”
Add in a couple of GolfWeek writers picking the recently-turned 30-year-old, and lots of eyes (and wagers) will be on Burns as he tees off at 12:35 today, partnered with Xander Schauffele.
CBS, Golf Channel and ESPN will provide TV coverage. Golf Channel will keep track of Burns’ round today, while with Friday’s 9:25 tee time, coverage will start on ESPN, shift to ESPN+ then wrap up on Golf Channel starting at 1.
There’s a $20 million purse, with $3.6 million for the winner. It begins a three week series culminating in the Tour Championship at Atlanta’s East Lake Country Club.
Burns has collected $7.6 million in 17 starts this season and has contended on the final day of The Masters, The Memorial, the U.S. Open and the British Open. He has five top 10s and 10 top 25s.
The Choudrant resident, a former two-time LSU All-American, stands fourth in U.S. President’s Cup rankings and is eighth on the FedEx Cup points list.
In the British Open’s second round, Burns tied the lowest score ever posted in a major championship, shooting a 62, and followed that with a 65.
He enters the week 11th in the Official World Golf Rankings.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com