No player seemed to have a better chance of securing a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup – perhaps on either side – than Sam Burns, with the 28-year-old arguably even outshining Scottie Scheffler over the duration of the FedEx Cup play-offs.
Sam Burns appears to be finding form at the ideal time for Jim Furyk, having finished no worse than 12th in his last four events. The high point came at the BMW Championship where a brilliant final round of 65 gave Burns the clubhouse lead for some time before Keegan Bradley managed to pip him to the title at Castle Pines.
Burns would only just miss out on a top 10 at The Tour Championship – meaning that no player had a better aggregate score over the three play-off events than Burns. And that presented Jim Furyk with a fantastic opportunity to hand him a captain’s pick for Royal Montreal this week.
It would certainly be safe to assume that Burns will partner his good friend Scottie Scheffler at some stage at the Presidents Cup, with the pair playing three times together at Quail Hollow two years ago. And all eyes will be on how Scheffler performs in Canada, with the world number one enjoying a phenomenal year.
Scottie Scheffler feeling the effects of the FedEx Cup play-offs
Much of the talk – particularly after last year’s Ryder Cup – has concerned America’s preparation for the event, with the play-offs coming thick and fast. And speaking on Golf Today, Burns noted how both he and Scheffler seem ready to take some time off ahead of the Presidents Cup.
“You know what to expect to start the year, and you know the last two weeks of the year are going to be hot, and they’re going to be stressful weeks at times,” he said.
“It’s funny, I was talking to Scottie this morning, and he was asking, ‘does everything on your body hurt?’ Yeah, our group at home was going to play pickleball last night and I usually like to attend that, and mentally I wanted to be there, but last night wasn’t the night for pickleball, so yeah, I’m excited to be home and get some rest and look forward to preparing for Montreal.”
Scheffler and Sam Burns have a point to prove after 2022 Presidents Cup
It seems remarkable to say now, but Scheffler and Burns actually have a point to prove after the previous Presidents Cup.
The pair were the only American two to lose on the opening day in 2022, while they could only secure a half in their Friday match. Heading into the weekend, the Internationals had got 1.5 of their two points from their two matches against Scheffler and Burns.
Ultimately, Scheffler would emerge from his four matches with just half a point, while Burns would halve his match with Hideki Matsuyama on Sunday as the Americans managed to fight off a potential comeback.
And of course, neither player would have anything like their best form at the Ryder Cup the following year, so both will be desperate to make amends in Montreal, particularly when Scheffler has seemingly ascended to a level where he is being compared with Tiger Woods.
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