2023 Valspar Championship: Top 10 Power Rankings at Innisbrook

Sam Burns is here for the three-peat.

After top-30 finishes in his first two appearances at the Valspar Championship, Burns broke through to win at Innisbrook in 2021 and again in 2022.

The Louisianan carded 67-63-69-68 (-17) last year to come up one shy of matching Vijay Singh’s tournament 72-hole record in 2004.

"“I think these greens are all Bermuda and in the past we have had some overseed in there and these are straight Bermuda and that’s what I grew up on. So I’m just comfortable around those,” Burns was transcribed by ASAP Sports in 2021. “I think just playing on them every day back home, you’re used to seeing grain, you kind of don’t even think about it, but you know it’s there and you’re kind of calculating it in. So I think I just feel comfortable on these greens.”"

In 2022, the LSU alum reached 17-under once again (64-67-67-69) to reach a playoff with Davis Riley, who Burns trailed by three entering the day. Burns went par-birdie in sudden death to get the job done.

In 2018, he took T-12th (71-69-67-73) and 2019 T-30th (69-74-67-74).

Burns got back in the money last week with T-35th at the Players Championship after a pair of missed cuts. He shot par or better in three of four rounds and was only six shots out of third place.

Burns is 11th this season on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting per round (.713). While not the biggest fairway finder in the world, he knows how to hit his lines at Innisbrook.

It’s hard to win on the PGA Tour at all, let alone three times in a row. Yet, it’d be foolish to give anyone else the No. 1 spot in the power rankings.

It’s Burns’ title until someone comes and takes it.