By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Sam Burns tees off in his fifth Masters this morning at 8:19 to begin the 2026 majors season after his best across the board performance in golf’s big four tournaments last season.
Burns, 29, was one of less than two dozen golfers to make the cut in all four major championships in 2025, highlighted by a tie for seventh at the U.S. Open and 19th at the PGA Championship.
The Choudrant resident, who plays out of Squire Creek Country Club, tied for 45th at Augusta last April. He had a best Masters finish of T29 at the 2023 event, when he opened with his best round at Augusta National, a 68, and finished the tournament at 1-over par.
Burns, a Shreveport native and Calvary Baptist graduate, ranks 13th on the PGA Tour this year in shots gained putting and 17th in driving distance, two aspects of the game that are vital in this week’s tournament.
But his career average score at Augusta National is 73.67, almost 2-over.
This season, Burns has made four of seven cuts and earned $1.25 million. If he makes the cut this week, it will bump his official career earnings over $36 million – he’s sitting at $35,985,076 entering today.
Burns will play with 2022 British Open champion Cameron Smith and Jake Knapp in the first two rounds. Knapp has won $2.4 million this season by making six of seven cuts.
After this morning’s early tee time, they go off Friday at 11:27.
Burns has three top 10 finishes in his last 10 stars and five top 10s in his last 20 tournaments. He is 35th in the FedEx Cup standings for 2026 and 33rd in the Official World Golf Rankings. He finished seventh in the 2025 FedEx Cup and made his second Ryder Cup appearance for the USA.
TV coverage today and Friday is on Golf Channel “Live from The Masters” from 7 a.m.-2 p.m., with Prime Video providing streaming tournament coverage from noon-2 and ESPN from 2-6:30. Extensive coverage is available at masters.com.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com
