Sam Burns

Sam Burns

28-Year-Old Golfer
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2025 Fantasy Outlook
While Burns didn't find the win column in 2024 like he did the season prior, he actually had a better year statistically. Burns was 13th in SG: Total in 2024 compared to 31st in 2023. He was able to pile up 12 top-15 finishes, the most such finishes in a season in his career. Burns had another great putting campaign, finishing inside the top-15 in SG: Putting for the fourth straight season. The difference is 2024 was that he signficantly improved his accuracy off the tee, as well as his SG: Approach numbers. That being said, Burns was still a ways off his numbers of 2021-22 when he finished 18th in SG: Approach and piled up three victories. The 28-year-old is still capable of those type of performances if he dials in his distances. Read Past Outlooks
Leads in SG: Putting in Charlotte
May 18, 2025
Burns fired a four-under 67 on Sunday at the PGA Championship to finish in a share of 19th place.
ANALYSIS
Burns had to birdie two of the final four holes Friday just to make the cut on the number, and he took advantage with the second lowest final round to climb 30 spots on the leaderboard Sunday. He was carried by a hot putter, as he gained 4.2 strokes on the greens in the final round and led the field for the tournament in the category. Burns has been in good form with three top-20s over his last four starts.
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Sam Burns See More
Yahoo PGA DFS Picks: Charles Schwab Challenge Cash and GPP Strategy
4 days ago
Davis Riley is the defending champion at Colonial coming off a top finish, and Bryce Danielson says he is one of the best value plays in this week's PGA DFS contests on Yahoo.
FanDuel PGA DFS Picks: Charles Schwab Challenge Cash and GPP Strategy
5 days ago
Ricky Castillo comes into the Charles Schwab Challenge in good form, and he hits a lot of the key stats Ryan Andrade is targeting for PGA DFS contests on FanDuel this week.
DraftKings PGA DFS Picks: Charles Schwab Challenge Cash and GPP Strategy
5 days ago
Alex Smalley checks a lot of boxes at Colonial, and Len Hochberg thinks he's one of the best values in this week's PGA DFS contests on DraftKings.
2025 PGA Championship Betting: Picks, Odds, Predictions and Best Bets
12 days ago
Discover the best bets and picks for the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow and find out why Ryan Pohle will be backing Brooks Koepka at the betting window.
Major Power Rankings: 2025 PGA Championship Field
16 days ago
All eyes will be on Rory McIlory and Scottie Scheffler at Quail Hollow, but which one leads off Len Hochberg's power rankings for the 2025 PGA Championship?
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2022
2020
2019
2018
The expecations for Burns in 2022-23 were very high off his three-win campaign in 2021-22. It wasn't a let down because Burns was able to get another win at the WGC-Match Play, but many would have hoped for more than just six top-10s in 26 starts. Burns has long been a great driver and putter, but the difference between last season and 2021-22 was the iron play. Burns was 18th in SG: Approach in 2021-22, but fell down to 122nd in that category last season. If those can meet somewhere in the middle in 2024 you can expect a strong season for the 27-year-old.
Burns was able to better what was a very impressive season in 2020-21 with a three-win performance in 2021-22. Burns got his first win early at the Sanderson Farms Championship and then was able to repeat at the Valspar Championship in a playoff. The 26-year-old picked up his final win at Colonial in which he outlasted the No.1 ranked player in the OWGR, Scottie Scheffler, in a playoff. Burns tailed off a bit down the stretch, but his combonation of distance and putting will make him a consistent threat for years to come. The next step for this player will be to raise his level of play at the majors.
Burns didn't enter the PGA Tour with much hype in 2019, but entering 2020-21, there was a feeling that he was about to break through. That break through occurred at the Valspar Championship in May where he picked up his first PGA Tour win. Not one to rest on his laurels, Burns posted a runner-up in his next start on tour. His pace slowed a bit after that, but he managed to find another runner-up at the St. Jude in August. In all, it was an incredible year for Burns, one that he's unlikely to duplicate this year however. Burns should continue to get better, but his number is just too high for salary cap purposes this season.
Burns' second season on Tour came with mediocre results: 103rd in FedEx Cup points, 11-out-of-19 cuts made and three top-20 finishes. At only 24, it's likely we have yet to see the best of Burns, who won the Jack Nicklaus Award at the best collegiate golfer in 2017. Burns ranked inside the top 10 in driving distance and top-20 in SG: Off-the-tee last season, but has been held back by his chipping game where he's failed to crack the top 175 in either year on Tour. An improvement there could pay off big in 2020-21.
Burns had a solid, yet not quite spectacular rookie season on the PGA Tour this past year. He earned over $1 million, carded six top-10s and most importantly, secured his card for the upcoming season. His best finish came in the fall however and while he did post six top-10s, he was more of a hit or miss type of guy last season. There could be something there, but it's too early too tell. It's probably best to pass on Burns this season in salary cap formats.
The LSU product was named a first-team All-American and recipient of the Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year award as the NCAA's top golfer during the 2016-17 season. He not only won on the Web.com Tour as a rookie in 2018, but also appeared in 11 PGA Tour events including a top-10 at the Honda Classic. Burns led the Web.com Tour in both birdie average and putting average, so he'll be a candidate to make some noise with a full schedule at the next level.
More Fantasy News
Fourth in SG: Putting at Truist
May 13, 2025
Burns carded a three-over 73 on Sunday at the Truist Championship to finish five-under and tied for 30th.
ANALYSIS
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T5 finish at TPC Craig Ranch
May 4, 2025
Burns closed with a six-under 65 on Sunday to finish in a tie for fifth place at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson.
ANALYSIS
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Fourth in SG: OTT at Harbour Town
April 22, 2025
Burns carded a four-under 67 on Sunday at the RBC Heritage to finish 10-under and tied for 13th.
ANALYSIS
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Third consecutive MC
April 8, 2025
Burns recorded a two-day score of one-over-par to miss the cut at last week's Valero Texas Open by three shots.
ANALYSIS
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Second straight missed cut
March 23, 2025
Burns recorded a two-day total of three-over at the Valspar Championship to miss the cut by one stroke.
ANALYSIS
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