Sam Burns enters Sunday with a two-shot Open Championship lead and a chance to turn years of near-misses into a career-defining major victory.
Sam Burns has spent much of his career standing close to golf’s brightest spotlight without fully owning it.
That could change Sunday at Royal Birkdale.
Burns will enter the final round of the 2026 Open Championship with a two-shot lead after producing one of the wildest turnarounds in recent major history.
After opening with a 3-over 73 and sitting tied for 106th, the 29-year-old responded with rounds of 62 and 65 to seize control of the leaderboard.
Now he’s 18 holes away from becoming the Champion Golfer of the Year.
It’s a position few could’ve predicted Thursday night. Burns finished his opening round with three consecutive bogeys and appeared more likely to miss the cut than contend for the Claret Jug.
Then everything flipped.
Burns matched the championship scoring record with a second-round 62 before delivering six birdies Saturday.
He grabbed the lead during a blistering front nine and protected it with clutch birdies at Nos. 14 and 17.
The performance means even more considering Burns nearly skipped the tournament.
His wife, Caroline, recently gave birth to their second child, Belle, on July 3.
Burns hadn’t planned to compete at Royal Birkdale, but his wife encouraged him to make the trip and assured him everything was under control at home.
That vote of confidence appears to have freed him mentally.
Burns has won five times on the PGA TOUR, but his major championship résumé is filled with painful near-misses.
He finished runner-up to Wyndham Clark at the U.S. Open and has repeatedly entered final rounds near the lead without closing the deal.
He also owns a shaky 1-for-5 record when holding a 54-hole lead.
That history will follow him Sunday.
So will the inevitable comparisons to Scottie Scheffler, Burns’ close friend and the world’s top-ranked golfer.
Burns has spent years answering questions about Scheffler, practicing alongside him and studying the conservative strategy that has made Scheffler nearly impossible to beat.
Now Burns has a chance to use those lessons against the strongest field in golf.
He doesn’t need to chase every flag. He doesn’t need to produce another historic round. He simply needs to avoid the costly mistakes that have derailed previous major opportunities.
For years, Burns has been known as Scheffler’s best friend, a talented golfer who couldn’t quite finish the biggest tournaments.
One steady round at Royal Birkdale could change that narrative forever.
