2023 RBC Canadian Open: Top 10 Power Rankings at Oakdale

Things are back on the uptick for Sam Burns. After winning the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in March, Burns cooled off without a top-10 in his next four starts, including back-to-back missed cuts at the Wells Fargo Championship and PGA Championship.

Getting back to Colonial where he was defending champ helped stop the bleeding. Burns posted T-6th.

The LSU alum followed it up last week with T-16th at the Memorial Tournament. He ranked top-30 in every strokes gained category at Muirfield Village. That type of well-roundedness is what he’s looking for next week at the U.S. Open.

Burns played well at the 2022 RBC Canadian Open, taking T-4th at St. George’s.

The 26-year-old ranks ninth on the PGA Tour this season in strokes gained putting per round (.631). He’s a positive in every SG category except for approach-the-green.

Burns sets up well at a course like Oakdale where the par-5s don’t appear to be overly daunting. He’s 10th in successfully going for the green (67.66%).

Burns is 25th in birdie average (4.06) and has yet to miss a putt within three feet on 516 attempts.

This week and every week now until September is important for potential Ryder Cup members. Burns is seeking his first appearance for the U.S. and sits eighth in points. Top six automatically make the team.

One would think Burns is a near lock for a captain’s pick given his resume and solid performance at the 2022 Presidents Cup. Nevertheless, he’d love to add another win or two and make himself a lock.