Keegan Bradley was clearly mightily impressed by Sam Burns after his second round 65 at Oakmont saw him jump to the top of the leaderboard at the US Open.
Burns was in sensational form on day two at Oakmont, and gained more than nine shots on the US Open field in total.
The 28-year-old leads by one shot from J.J Spaun and two from Viktor Hovland heading into the weekend.
Scottie Scheffler offered high praise for Burns’ putting and competitiveness at the US Open after his good friend fired a 65 on day two.
The five-time PGA Tour winner is way more than just a good putter though.
Burns has driven the ball exceptionally well at Oakmont during the first two days of the US Open.
One thing’s for sure, the man from Shreveport, Louisiana, would have impressed Ryder Cup captain Bradley with his scintillating round of five-under par.
Keegan Bradley shares what he noticed about Sam Burns during his warmup before his second round 65 at the US Open
Burns is currently sitting in 15th place in the US Ryder Cup team qualification standings.
So it goes without saying that he desperately needs to make a big statement of intent this week at the US Open.
It could be argued that he has already done just that after firing a round of five-under par around Oakmont.
Bradley was asked if another 65 is possible at the Henry Fownes-designed, Gil Hanse restored layout over the weekend, after Burns’ brilliance on Friday.
“If it rains maybe, but I was so glad to see Sam Burns up there“, Bradley explained. “He’s such a great player, and he’s been trending. Every time I play with him, he seems to have a U.S. Open mentality. I was watching him this morning, and I just kept saying, it looks like he’s up for the challenge today, and he was.“
Hearing Bradley talk about him like that will give Burns a huge shot of confidence, at just the right time.
Why Bradley didn’t like USGA’s comments at the US Open
We all know just how difficult US Opens are for the players.
However, something the USGA said about Oakmont really got under the Ryder Cup captain’s skin.
One of golf’s chief governing bodies urged the players to be more mentally resilient in order to succeed at Oakmont.
And Bradley responded in a real no-nonsense fashion.
“I think that the USGA can say all they want, but we’re professional golfers. This is what we do for a living. I don’t agree with that. I think that we go out here every day and try to be professionals, and we know when it comes to a major, whether it’s a U.S. Open, British Open, Masters, PGA, that we have to be on top of our game mentally. The USGA is not doing that, we’re doing that.“
Well said indeed.
It’s clear to see that Burns has the mental strength that Bradley is talking about, after his first two rounds at the US Open.
Now it will be really interesting to see whether or not he has the character needed to go on and win the tournament.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
