Oakmont (United States) (AFP) – On a punishing Oakmont course famed for crowning first-time major winners, Sam Burns finds himself on the brink of joining a historic list. The 28-year-old American will carry a one-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the 125th US Open after firing a one-under-par 69 in Saturday’s third round to stand on four-under 206.
Burns, who leads compatriot J.J. Spaun and 2013 Masters winner Adam Scott of Australia by one stroke, is among nine first-major hopefuls in the top 10. Seven first-time major winners at Oakmont include 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus, South African Ernie Els, and Americans Johnny Miller and Dustin Johnson.
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“It would be incredible,” Burns said. “As a kid growing up you dream about winning major championships and that’s why we practice so hard and work so hard. The opportunity to win a major is special. I’m definitely really excited for tomorrow. The history here and all the people that have been before me and walked these grounds and played here, it’s really special.”
Players with a 54-hole solo lead in a major for the first time, like Burns, have won three of the last five opportunities, including Bryson DeChambeau at last year’s US Open, fellow American Scottie Scheffler at the 2022 Masters, and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama at the 2021 Masters.
Close Burns friend Scheffler, the world number one, has taken three major titles, two at the Masters and last month’s PGA Championship. “Scottie is an incredible player,” Burns said. “We spend a lot of time together and being able to talk to him and just learn from him and ask him questions, it has been really cool. He’s an easy guy to root for. He happens to be also the best player in the world. But, yeah, it has been nice to pick his brain and ask him certain things.”
Burns, who shares a rental house this week with Scheffler and their families, admits he would love to know some of the major-winning experiences that Scheffler has enjoyed, but not in an envious tone. “Yeah, as a competitor, we show up to play to win,” Burns said. “Watching him do that and watching him have success, it brings me a lot of joy.”
Putting has been a joyful experience this week too. Burns and Ryan Fox of New Zealand are the only players without a three-putt bogey this week. “The course I play at at home, Squire Creek, it has big surfaces and lots of slope,” Burns said. “So I think I’m kind of used to having a 15- or 20-footer that may break five or six feet. I like that kind of artistic ability to kind of see the break.”
Burns is known for not making changes in life or golf, but a first major win is one he longs for. “My dad has always said you got to dance with who brought you,” Burns said. “My coach and I have been working together since I was 15 or 16, and it seems way more complicated to go seek advice from someone else who doesn’t know me or my golf swing.”
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