Burns earns 1st TOUR title with 3-shot victory at Valspar Championship
Sam Burns earned his first PGA TOUR title on Sunday with an impressive three-shot victory at the Valspar Championship.
The 24-year-old, who started the day with at least a share of the 54-hole lead for the third time this season, posted a 3-under 68 in the final round, outdueling Keegan Bradley and finally breaking through on golf's biggest stage.
"Those moments in the past, they test you, and you really learn a lot from them," Burns said about his near-misses earlier this season. "This week, coming down the stretch when we started the back nine, (my caddie) Travis and I just tried to stick to our process."
Burns played the back nine at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course at 1-under on Sunday, while his playing partner Bradley finished at 3-over. The two were deadlocked on the 13th tee before Bradey found the water with his tee shot, leading to a double-bogey and a two-shot lead for Burns that he didn't give back.
With the victory, Burns climbs to No. 44 in the world rankings while securing his spot in May's PGA Championship and the 2022 Masters.
Here's the final top of the leaderboard from Tampa:
| Place | Player | To Par | Round 4 Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Burns | -17 | 68 |
| 2 | Keegan Bradley | -14 | 71 |
| T3 | Viktor Hovland | -13 | 65 |
| T3 | Cameron Tringale | -13 | 68 |
| 5 | Abraham Ancer | -12 | 69 |
| T6 | Vaughn Taylor | -10 | 68 |
| T6 | Max Homa | -10 | 74 |
The PGA TOUR heads to Charlotte, N.C. next week for the Wells Fargo Championship from Quail Hollow Club.