Sam Burns may not be troubling the top of the leaderboard at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, but the American treated the crowds to one of the shots of the tournament.
After opening with rounds of 73 and 70, Burns wouldn’t have been one of the names fans were eagerly waiting for when he reached the par 3 11th on Saturday at TPC Southwind. However, his tee shot on the 157-yard par-3 was definitely worth watching as he boldly fired his effort directly at the pin, which was tucked in the back right corner of the island green surrounded by water.
After falling out of the sky, Burns' stunning effort landed directly in the cup for an incredible slam-dunk ace as he went on to finish three-under despite being one-over at the turn.
The shot was Burns’ second hole in one in less than two months after he aced Los Angeles Country Club’s 15th hole at this year’s US Open. Burns celebrated his latest ace by hugging his caddie and waving to the crowd after achieving the first hole in one of the weekend.
Currently, Burns sits inside the top 20 of the FedEx Cup standings, but with a poor result this week, at the first FedEx Cup playoff event, he could drop outside the top 30. The top 50 do advance to next week's BMW Championship, so Burns should have no issue with that.
Another factor is the Ryder Cup, with Burns looking to make his debut at Marco Simone in September. Currently, the American sits well outside the top six automatic spots so will likely require a Captain's Pick if he is to be selected. Although unclear as to who will be selected for these six spots, Burns has picked up just one top 10 since his WGC-Match Play victory in March.
For now though, the 27-year-old can only rely on his current play, with his red-hot shot also in keeping with local temperatures which reached 111 degrees on Friday in round two. Some players walked the fairways shielded by umbrellas, while others draped wet towels around their necks.
Eric Larson, who usually caddies for Harris English, was even forced to seek medical attention as Andrew Argotsinger stepped-in for Larson, who received an IV and was treated for heat stroke.
