By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
MEMPHIS – It looked a lot worse than it was, which is a testament to how good Sam Burns is at course management.
Overcoming an erratic driver, the former LSU All-American shot 3-under par 67 Thursday in the opening round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the beginning of the three-week-long FedEx Cup Playoffs. He is tied for 13th in the 69-man field, with five players, headlined by Jordan Speith, sharing the lead at 5-under.
That doesn’t sound bad at all for Burns, who played his first competitive round in four weeks, since his second-place finish at the British Open.
It wasn’t the razor-sharp play that has been the norm for him for the past four months, however. Burns missed eight of 14 fairways and barely evaded two water hazards with drives, ranking 46th in the field in driving accuracy.
But he recovered very well. The Shreveport native and Choudrant resident tied for third in greens in regulation (13 of 18), carding four birdies until closing with a bogey 5 on the 18th hole, the toughest for the field Thursday at TPC Southwind.
The 30-year-old got under par on the par-5 third hole with a 17-foot birdie putt. He closed the front nine getting to 2-under, sinking a 7-footer on the par 4. He birdied two more par 4s on the back nine, nailing a 20-footer on 13 and a 9-footer on 16.
But his wayward driver finally put him in an untenable position off the final tee, when he was inches away from going into the water hazard. He had to pitch out sideways and couldn’t convert a 21-foot par putt.
This season, although it’s not by a big margin, Thursday rounds have been the least effective for Burns. He’s shaved a half-stroke or better off his Round 1 average of 69.7 afterward.
The TPC Southwind layout plays to his performance all year. There are 14 par-4 holes on the par 70 course. Burns ranks second on the Tour with his 3.95 scoring average on par-4s this season.
He and playing partner Xander Schauffele (also 3-under) tee off today at 9:25 with TV coverage on ESPN+ and ESPN. Weekend coverage will be on CBS.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com