Rory: Must be a 'little bit better' at TPC Toronto
Rory McIlroy catches up with Kira K. Dixon about his Thursday performance at the RBC Canadian Open, where he reflects on his new driver, why TPC Toronto is a "very gettable golf course," and more.
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CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Sam Burns is playing free at Oakmont's treacherous course. It's put him atop the US Open leaderboard going into the weekend
Sam Burns came into Friday knowing that he could play at Oakmont. He also knew what the course could do to him, having finished with three bogeys and one double bogey during Thursday's opening round. Burns chose not to dwell on how his round ended and instead focused on the five birdies that came earlier. 'I played really well yesterday other than the finishing holes,' he said to reporters after his round Friday. 'So, I think today was just kind of getting mentally ready to come out and try to put a good round together. I feel like I've been playing well coming off last week and into this week and my round yesterday. Really just trying to get yourself in position out here and give yourself as many looks as you can.' What came on Friday might be the round of his life. On this most difficult of courses – only three players are under par after 36 holes – Burns shot a 5-under 65 that left him in sole control of the US Open halfway through the tournament. It's the first time he's had at least a share of the lead at this point in a major championship and was just two shots shy of the course record 63, set by Johnny Miller in the 1973 edition of this tournament. Burns is a five-time winner on the PGA Tour but has only finished in the top 10 at a major once – at last year's US Open at Pinehurst. He's known as one of the best putters on the tour but is coming off a week where his putter failed him at a critical moment. On the first playoff hole of the RBC Canadian Open last week, Burns had a five-foot putt to win the tournament. Instead, his ball hit the lip of the cup and rimmed out; on the second playoff hole he three-putted and would finish in second. This week, there has been no sign of a hangover. 'I think especially around here, honestly it kind of forces you to take your medicine because a lot of times that's the only option you have,' Burns said Friday of playing Oakmont. 'I think for this golf course, you really just have to free it up. It's too hard to try to guide it around here. You're going to hit some in the rough, you're going to hit some in some bad spots, you might as well do it with authority.' The 125th US Open is being played for a record tenth time at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania where CNN's Patrick Snell is in the rough to show you just why the famed country club has long been considered one of the toughest courses in the country. #cnn #news #sports #golf #usga #usopen #oakmont #golfing #oakmontcountryclub Burns will start Saturday with a share of the lead and will have the eyes of the many spectators at Oakmont on him, a stark contrast to Friday when the biggest crowds only paused to watch his shots when Scottie Scheffler's group was passing by a nearby hole. Scheffler and Burns are good friends and often travel together on tour, but it's the No. 1-ranked Texan who is usually in the spotlight. Such was Burns' play on Friday that Scheffler was answering questions about his buddy after his round was over. He plays golf very freely, and he's got really good natural instincts when it comes to his putting,' Scheffler said, 'and a lot of it is just very reactionary. He's got good fundamentals, good instinct, and he putts very reactionary. That's really all there is to it, it's as simple as that.' That's the lesson that Burns learned at Pinehurst No. 2 last year when he finished tied for ninth. It's counterintuitive, especially on such a big stage, but Burns said his whole mindset is based on allowing Oakmont to be the beast that it is. He told reporters he had no real goals for a score he'd like to shoot. He wasn't obsessing over the putts that didn't go in because he felt like doing so would be greedy. And, as one of the players in the tournament without a major championship to his name, the most important thing was taking the pressure off. 'I just feel like I've tried to play too perfect and tried to force it a little bit at times. Sos trying to really be patient and take what the golf course gives me,' Burns said. Oakmont has so far rewarded the players who take a patient approach with it. It has a way of humbling players who try to impose their will on this monster of a track. Take Thriston Lawrence for example. The South African started Friday with a par and then three straight birdies. Playing with confidence, he let his driver hunt after that, going for the big drives that he likes to hit and playing aggressively as he played himself into a three-stroke lead. Oakmont rewarded that confidence with three straight bogeys. Then another. Then two more. Then a double bogey. And when he was about to finish up his round, the skies opened up and USGA officials suspended play for the night, much to his chagrin. This course outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, isn't rewarding many players this week – let alone forgiving their mistakes. Burns' short game, and willingness to take what he gets, is helping him get to the top. 'Look, this golf course is very tough and you're going to get the ball out of position and you're going to get in some spots that are tricky. I think being able to rely on your short game and give yourself a chance at par is really important,' he said. The question now coming into the weekend is how long will Burns stay atop the leaderboard. He's put himself in historically good position – 11 of the last 12 US Open champions were in the top five after the first two rounds. He's sanguine about it all. 'It's a 72-hole golf tournament, and if you can get a round under par out here, no matter if it's 1-under, you'll take it,' he said, adding, 'I'm looking forward to the weekend.' His friend Scheffler hinted there might be a bit more fire underneath that calm exterior. 'Sam is one of those guys, he's like me in a sense that he's a hyper-competitive person,' Scheffler said. 'I think you always dream of having a chance to win these tournaments, and he's put himself in position a few times at majors, and he's in position again.
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Sam Burns is playing free at Oakmont's treacherous course. It's put him atop the US Open leaderboard going into the weekend
Sam Burns came into Friday knowing that he could play at Oakmont. He also knew what the course could do to him, having finished with three bogeys and one double bogey during Thursday's opening round. Burns chose not to dwell on how his round ended and instead focused on the five birdies that came earlier. 'I played really well yesterday other than the finishing holes,' he said to reporters after his round Friday. 'So, I think today was just kind of getting mentally ready to come out and try to put a good round together. I feel like I've been playing well coming off last week and into this week and my round yesterday. Really just trying to get yourself in position out here and give yourself as many looks as you can.' What came on Friday might be the round of his life. On this most difficult of courses – only three players are under par after 36 holes – Burns shot a 5-under 65 that left him in sole control of the US Open halfway through the tournament. It's the first time he's had at least a share of the lead at this point in a major championship and was just two shots shy of the course record 63, set by Johnny Miller in the 1973 edition of this tournament. Burns is a five-time winner on the PGA Tour but has only finished in the top 10 at a major once – at last year's US Open at Pinehurst. He's known as one of the best putters on the tour but is coming off a week where his putter failed him at a critical moment. On the first playoff hole of the RBC Canadian Open last week, Burns had a five-foot putt to win the tournament. Instead, his ball hit the lip of the cup and rimmed out; on the second playoff hole he three-putted and would finish in second. This week, there has been no sign of a hangover. 'I think especially around here, honestly it kind of forces you to take your medicine because a lot of times that's the only option you have,' Burns said Friday of playing Oakmont. 'I think for this golf course, you really just have to free it up. It's too hard to try to guide it around here. You're going to hit some in the rough, you're going to hit some in some bad spots, you might as well do it with authority.' The 125th US Open is being played for a record tenth time at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania where CNN's Patrick Snell is in the rough to show you just why the famed country club has long been considered one of the toughest courses in the country. #cnn #news #sports #golf #usga #usopen #oakmont #golfing #oakmontcountryclub Burns will start Saturday with a share of the lead and will have the eyes of the many spectators at Oakmont on him, a stark contrast to Friday when the biggest crowds only paused to watch his shots when Scottie Scheffler's group was passing by a nearby hole. Scheffler and Burns are good friends and often travel together on tour, but it's the No. 1-ranked Texan who is usually in the spotlight. Such was Burns' play on Friday that Scheffler was answering questions about his buddy after his round was over. He plays golf very freely, and he's got really good natural instincts when it comes to his putting,' Scheffler said, 'and a lot of it is just very reactionary. He's got good fundamentals, good instinct, and he putts very reactionary. That's really all there is to it, it's as simple as that.' That's the lesson that Burns learned at Pinehurst No. 2 last year when he finished tied for ninth. It's counterintuitive, especially on such a big stage, but Burns said his whole mindset is based on allowing Oakmont to be the beast that it is. He told reporters he had no real goals for a score he'd like to shoot. He wasn't obsessing over the putts that didn't go in because he felt like doing so would be greedy. And, as one of the players in the tournament without a major championship to his name, the most important thing was taking the pressure off. 'I just feel like I've tried to play too perfect and tried to force it a little bit at times. Sos trying to really be patient and take what the golf course gives me,' Burns said. Oakmont has so far rewarded the players who take a patient approach with it. It has a way of humbling players who try to impose their will on this monster of a track. Take Thriston Lawrence for example. The South African started Friday with a par and then three straight birdies. Playing with confidence, he let his driver hunt after that, going for the big drives that he likes to hit and playing aggressively as he played himself into a three-stroke lead. Oakmont rewarded that confidence with three straight bogeys. Then another. Then two more. Then a double bogey. And when he was about to finish up his round, the skies opened up and USGA officials suspended play for the night, much to his chagrin. This course outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, isn't rewarding many players this week – let alone forgiving their mistakes. Burns' short game, and willingness to take what he gets, is helping him get to the top. 'Look, this golf course is very tough and you're going to get the ball out of position and you're going to get in some spots that are tricky. I think being able to rely on your short game and give yourself a chance at par is really important,' he said. The question now coming into the weekend is how long will Burns stay atop the leaderboard. He's put himself in historically good position – 11 of the last 12 US Open champions were in the top five after the first two rounds. He's sanguine about it all. 'It's a 72-hole golf tournament, and if you can get a round under par out here, no matter if it's 1-under, you'll take it,' he said, adding, 'I'm looking forward to the weekend.' His friend Scheffler hinted there might be a bit more fire underneath that calm exterior. 'Sam is one of those guys, he's like me in a sense that he's a hyper-competitive person,' Scheffler said. 'I think you always dream of having a chance to win these tournaments, and he's put himself in position a few times at majors, and he's in position again.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Without being 'greedy,' Sam Burns posts amazingly low 65 on tough day at Oakmont
OAKMONT, Pa. – Through 36 holes at the 125th U.S. Open, Sam Burns already has made 11 birdies, matching the number that 2016 Open winner Dustin Johnson made for the entire championship at Oakmont Country Club. Burns made a half dozen of them on Friday, firing 5-under 65 to grab the 36-hole clubhouse lead at 3-under 137. Asked if he felt he left a few out there and his score, the low round of the week, could have been even better, Burns said, 'Not really, no. I think that's being a little greedy.' Advertisement Burns may not be greedy, but he has been on a roll. He shot a final-round 62 at the RBC Canadian Open and nearly stole the title, falling in a four-hole playoff to Ryan Fox. Burns was cruising along at 3 under in the first round at Oakmont on Thursday when the wheels came off. He played the final four holes in 5 over and signed for 2-over 72. Of his sloppy finish to the first round, he said, 'You get out of position here, and the golf course will bite you. It was unfortunate, but there was too much good to focus on the little bit of bad.' Burns began his Friday round on the same nine that had befuddled him the day before and shot 31, matching his lowest nine-hole score of his major championship career (2022 Open Championship, final round, back 9; 2023 Masters, first round, front 9; 2025 PGA Championship, final round, front 9). Sam Burns during the second round of the 125th U.S. OPEN at Oakmont Country Club. Sam Burns has PGA Tour success, but not a major The 28-year-old Burns has won five times on the PGA Tour but that success hasn't translated to the majors. He finished T-9 last year at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, his first career top 10 in a major. What's been holding him back at the big four tourneys? Advertisement 'Trying to be a little too perfect around major championship golf courses,' he explained, 'and I think especially around here, honestly, it kind of forces you to take your medicine because a lot of times that's the only option you have.' He's also adopted a simple philosophy: 'You're going to hit some in some bad spots, you might as well do it with authority,' he said. That was the case at the par-4 ninth, his final hole of the day, where his tee shot found the penalty area to the left. 'Fade off the left side and just pulled it a little bit,' he said. He took his medicine and left himself 22 feet for par and buried it. Advertisement 'That putt was, I don't know, 6 feet of break,' he said. 'Yeah, it was a nice one to make for sure.' It capped off a wonderful round at Oakmont and has him poised to do something special this weekend, good friend Scottie Scheffler said. 'Sam is one of those guys, he's like me in a sense that he's a hyper-competitive person,' he said. 'I think you always dream of having a chance to win these tournaments, and he's put himself in position a few times at majors, and he's in position again. I'm sure going into the weekend, he's right where I would want to be on the leaderboard, so you know, to have a good chance, it should be a fun experience for him.' This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Sam Burns posts amazingly low 65 on tough day at Oakmont
