Sam Burns knows a thing or two about major championship pressure. The 29-year-old has raised his game to a new level these past few seasons, elevating his status as a consistent contender at golf's four grandest tournaments.
Sunday at the 2026 Open, Burns found himself in contention again. The American held a two-stroke lead at the 54-hole mark over eventual winner Ryan Fox, his partner in the event's final pairing.
Burns was at the ultimate winning number of 10 under when he walked off the 18th green on Saturday. He was one better walking off the 2nd green on Sunday after a fast start. Unfortunately, Burns was two worse when his final putt fell, and he could do nothing else but shake hands with Fox, who powered his way to the Claret Jug with an up-and-down final round and stellar effort on the 72nd hole.
On paper, Burns is doing what every player should: gaining valuable experience. And experience is largely just that: valuable.
Earlier in the week, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler addressed Burns' ability to play himself into weekend contention at majors on a more consistent basis recently: "He's someone I spend so much time around. I know how good he is. Sometimes, you just need to continue to build that experience and put yourself in the positions. He was close at the U.S. Open last year. He was close again at the U.S. Open this year.
"He's played a lot of really good golf in a lot of the biggest tournaments. It's really difficult to win out here a bunch of times. Sam's a guy that's been knocking on the door a few times this year and hasn't been able to get it done. But like it's just a matter of continuing to give yourself opportunities, continuing to knock on the door. Sam's a guy that's been on the last few Ryder Cups, last few Presidents Cups, and he's a guy that I see all the time. He's got a ton of talent. For me, it's just a matter of time until he gets it done in one of these."
There comes a point when experience transforms innocence. It's almost as if a player becomes a victim of his own success. Yes, Burns is playing elite-level golf against elite competitors, but he has yet to crack that ceiling and put himself in that top tier, a level of play that is required four weeks out of the year.
Doubt can start to materialize. What is missing? When will the ball bounce may way instead? How can I change my fortunes?
Since the start of the 2024 season, Burns has given himself five legitimate chances to raise one of golf's most famous trophies. Nearly 50% of the time in those 12 tournaments, his name has been on the first page of the leaderboard in crunch time.
Burns fired a final-round 80 at Royal Troon in 2024 to blow himself out of contention. He held the lead at the 54-hole mark at Oakmont only to falter, no thanks to a horrible ruling down the stretch on the back nine. In 2026, Burns took an even larger leap.
Preceding his performance at The Open, the right-hander righted the ship at Augusta National and kept himself in the Masters throughout the entirety of the tournament. At the U.S. Open, he hit the shots. He hit them as he tried to overcome a seven-stroke deficit to Wyndham Clark with a final-round 67 falling agonizingly short with missed birdie bids on the 71st and 72nd holes.
Everything is pointing up and to the right for Burns. This performance should theoretically speed up that trajectory, too, even if a final round of even par golf was all that was required to force a theoretical playoff.
Juxtapose this steady build-up of success to the last three major champions, though. Fox had never finished inside the top 10 in a major before raising the Claret Jug. Clark has three top-20 finishes in his major career -- two of which are U.S. Open victories. Aaron Rai's best finish in a major before winning the PGA Championship was a T19.
Sometimes, experience is not always what it is cracked up to be. Going out and seizing the moment is even more important, and Burns has yet to follow through.
Of those players inside the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings, he has the longest winless drought spanning back to the 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, which no longer exists.
It's a delicate balance. Burns is playing consistent golf, but he's consistently proving that it's not good enough.
Xander Schauffele was peppered with questions about whether he would change anything in his game in 2024 following close calls, and he said no. Schauffele noted that it was the best he had ever played, and it would be ill-advised to tinker with anything. He was rewarded for his patience with two major championships that season.
Where Burns goes from here will be interesting. He is largely a major champion-in-waiting. At times, he has hit the shots required. At times, he has been on the receiving end of bad breaks. At times, he has failed to seize the moment that has been laid out in front of him.
At this current time, he is playing the best golf of his career. No question.
The same could be said for many, though, throughout the long lifespan of professional golf. Rickie Fowler, Lee Westwood, Colin Montgomerie and Doug Sanders were all major champions-in-waiting, too. And that's only naming a handful of notable players.
"Ultimately, whatever happens, I know that I can accept the outcome, and life's going to move on," Burns said Saturday evening. "I'll get to go home and see my family. I hope I'm taking some hardware with me, but if I'm not, that's fine, too."
Burns will keep on knocking on the door of golf immortality. He's too talented and too persistent not to remain a legitimate contender. Whether there is an answer on the other side, though, is never guaranteed. It is what makes weeks like this at The Open so fleeting and rare. They are opportunities one must seize and weeks one must conquer to earn one's place in history.
