2021 AT&T Byron Nelson: Top 10 picks at TPC Craig Ranch

Sam Burns comes to the AT&T Byron Nelson riding high from his first PGA Tour win. The 24-year-old out of LSU surged on Sunday at the Valspar Championship to win by three over playing partner, Keegan Bradley.

Burns leads the PGA Tour by leading after nine different rounds in the 2020-21 season. The young player has shown us big talent since his junior golf days in Louisiana, but he hadn’t been able to get into the winner’s circle.

He made no double bogeys or worse in the win. The Louisianan was third in strokes gained putting (2.27) and fifth in SG tee to green (1.9). Burns has been a solid putter all season at 22nd overall (.561).

Those trials and tribulations finally paid off in Florida. Now, he’ll look to ride the wave as a newcomer into the top 50 in the world.

“I think before this moment, before I won, I really thought that I just needed to play so well and I needed to do everything perfect,” Burns was transcribed by ASAP Sports. “I couldn’t make a mistake, and that’s just not true. I think for me today I just knew that if I could put the ball in the right spots with the golf course playing difficult that I was putting it well enough that I liked my chances.”

Burns shook out of a mini slump to win the Valspar and looks back to playing the type of golf he was earlier in the season.

He finished T-7th at the Vivint Houston Open last fall, solo third at an elevated status event, the Genesis Invitational, to go with six top-25s.

Burns ranks 17th on the PGA Tour in SG approach (.573).

This is Burns’ second AT&T Byron Nelson appearance. He was T-72nd at Trinity Forest in 2019.

Burns is no stranger to TPC Craig Ranch, either. Shortly after earning the Jack Nicklaus Award for top Division I NCAA player, he finished tops among 73 golfers at second stage of 2017 Korn Ferry Tour Q School by firing 22-under-par.