Another seven-stroke deficit was wiped out another week as Sam Burns came out of nowhere to snatch the Charles Schwab Challenge trophy in 2022. Shooting the final round of 5 under 65 on a day when Colonial averaged nearly 3, local Louisiana catapulted up the charts and into the playoffs with his good friend Scotty Scheffler.
Interrupted by a dramatic bird in the first hole in the playoffs, Burns not only shot a tartan jacket and custom Firebird ’79, but most importantly, his third victory of the season. For most of the day – hell, for most of the tournament – it was almost expected that Scheffler would pick up his fifth win in four months.
However, the Texan failed to gain momentum and eventually scored 2 over 72. Scheffler was uncomfortable at times – he missed fairways, did not judge the wind and generally looked uncomfortable with the greens – but still resisted the urge to give up. his play, combined with the difficult conditions, proved too much, as Burns pulled the carpet straight from below.
Burns’ triumph in the Charles Schwab Challenge is his fourth in his last 28 starts and it is high time we stopped treating him as up and rather as a star who is here to stay.
Comparisons are difficult, but we are set up to make them as sports fans, writers, etc. The parallels between Jordan Spy and Scheffler were made without nausea, but oddly enough, this is Spy’s best friend on the tour, Justin Thomas, whom I find most similar to Burns.
It’s not a recent bias or an easy outing after Thomas recovered from his own seven-shot deficit last Sunday at the PGA Championship. But ask yourself: are there two players in the Tour who are hotter when they’re on?
You could include Cameron Smith in the mix, but Burns has the ability to drill every single hole when he shoots all the cylinders … as Thomas does. Burns was an advertised collegiate player in the Southeast Conference … as was Thomas. Burns took the back seat of raising his good friend to world number one, and everyone anointed him for the next great … as Thomas did.
Thomas arrived at the 2017 PGA Championship with his four victories in the PGA Tour, coming in 23 months. Burns (probably) will arrive at the US Open with four wins in 13 months. The 25-year-old is a certified horse, a foothold in the top 10 of the official world golf rankings and it is only a matter of time before he claims the title of main champion entirely for himself. Rating: A +
Here are our other estimates for the Charles Schwab Challenge 2022
2. Scotty Scheffler (-9): Raise your hand, I had partly written Scheffler as the winner of the Charles Schwab Challenge. Despite his poor play, he just had the feeling that he would find a way to bring this thing out, as everyone seems to do great. It is not the loss in the playoffs that will keep him awake at night, but rather his round of 2 over 72, as only one better shot would bring him the trophy. He is still the best player in the world and that is why he was supposed to win after grabbing a share of the lead in the first round. He’s been taking breaks for the last four months, so maybe that’s just the way the golf gods spread love. Rating: A-
T4. Davis Riley (-7): If losing the playoffs in the Valspar Championship felt like a bee sting, it should feel like a hornet sting. Riley commanded the lead of the back nine after three birds around the turn, but a short pass on par-3 13th was the beginning of the end. The six-man match soon followed, and with it, his chances of winning his first PGA Tour title disappeared. His last five starts are T4-T13-T9-5-T4. A fight with Cameron Young for rookie of the year will follow in the next three months. Rating: A
T4. Tony Finau (-7): This may be the quietest backdoor finish in the top five of the year, but it marks a quality result for Finau that was difficult to achieve. The 32-year-old was not in the top 20 in a full-court tournament, outside of his runner-up at the Mexican Open. However, the shot of the ball seemed sharp and now his short game is starting to come to his aid constantly. It couldn’t have happened at a better time, as the summer program begins to heat up with the Memorial Tournament next week. In seven previous appearances, Finau has amassed four of the top 15, so expect his good game to continue in Ohio. Rating: A-
T7. Jordan Spieth (-5): You shouldn’t be surprised when it comes to Spieth these days, but his latest round could be a perfect encapsulation of the state of his game; he mapped six waves, six pairs, and six birds. The Texan is in the top five in both shots and shots around the green, but lags behind in his approach and, typically, his shot. Spieth will not be satisfied with another finish in the top 10 of Colonial and will certainly take the time to work on the flat rod before next week. The good news is that he has performed well at Muirfield Village in the past, having received green strikes in eight of his 10 outings. Rating: B +
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