2021 PGA Championship: Top 10 power rankings at Kiawah Island

Thirty years after the U.S. team won the Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island, Sam Burns would like to punch his ticket onto the American squad for this fall’s event at Whistling Straits.

This seemed unfathomable until about two weeks ago. The promising young talent showed a lot of game in college at LSU and early on as a pro. Unfortunately for him, early leads and contending at events didn’t always end up in high results.

Burns broke through for his first PGA Tour win a few weeks ago at the Valspar Championship.

Four rounds in the 60s gave him a three-shot win and he was four clear of third place.

The 24-year-old Louisianan took a week off to celebrate. He came out and nearly won again last week in Dallas. Burns’ Friday 62 pushed him into the 36-hole lead at the AT&T Byron Nelson before he ran out of gas and fell to solo second.

Burns led the field in strokes gained tee to green (2.95).

It was another big payday for a guy who continues to improve his apex in the world rankings. He was at No. 149 before finishing solo third at the Genesis Invitational in February. He’s climbed over 100 spots in three months.

The next big step for the 24-year-old is getting it done at the majors. He’s only played in three of them with two cuts made. His last start was T-29th at the 2019 PGA Championship.

“I think the biggest thing for me is just knowing my game is in a good place,” Burns was transcribed by ASAP Sports. “It’s in a good spot enough to where I can contend. So that’s cool for me, just to see some results for some of the stuff I’ve been working on back home.”