Sam Burns gets his best chance at winning a major he never planned to play.
Two weeks after his daughter was born, one week after Burns changed his mind and decided to fly from Louisiana to play in the British Open, he followed his record-tying 62 with a 5-under 65 on Saturday to build a two-shot lead at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.
Perhaps even more impressive was he played with purpose amid the chaos that is Bryson DeChambeau, who played alongside Burns and heard big support from the gallery a day after he theatrically protested a two-shot penalty for improving the path of his swing.
DeChambeau seems to thrive among distractions — his week began with six-time major champion Nick Faldo saying he had “zero clue of strategy” in links golf — and the penalty for an infraction on the fifth hole Friday was a big one. The two shots took him out of the final group and moved him three shots behind instead of one back.
But he pressed on, high-fiving the gallery from green-to-tee, giving a thumbs-up to the crowd when he walked onto the first tee and playing a high standard of golf. DeChambeau was even par through 14 holes until two birdies gave him momentum. He bogeyed the last hole for a 69, his sixth consecutive round in the 60s in the British Open.
DeChambeau didn’t speak to the media again. Rory McIlroy did, referring to the way DeChambeau protested the penalty as “performative.”
“I think a lot of it’s for attention,” McIlroy said after a 69 left him eight shots behind. He also accused DeChambeau of holding the tournament “hostage” because the extraordinary late-evening scene also delayed Saturday tee times.
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The golf attention now falls to Burns.
He was at 10-under 200 for a two-shot lead over Si Woo Kim (67) and Ryan Fox, who became the third player this week to tie the major championship record with a 62. He finished some 90 minutes before the last group even teed off, and now the 39-year-old from New Zealand will be in the final group with a shot at his first major.
Burns shot down a suggestion that golfers with newborns have a lot more freedom when they play. “If I was aware of that, I’d have like eight kids by now,” he said.
But there was freedom in knowing this is a chance he never thought he would have. His wife, Caroline, had been due to give birth to their second child the Tuesday before the British Open. Their first was born four days late.
“I just didn’t think there was any possible way,” Burns said. “And little Belle had different plans.”
Belle is the name of their daughter born July 3, which at least planted the idea of Burns playing. That turned into a conversation with his wife, including a phone call to close friend Scottie Scheffler, and it led to him deciding a week ago Friday to fly over to England.
“Ultimately she’s the one that really encouraged me to come over and play,” Burns said. “She basically said: ‘I’ve got this at home. Go over there and give it your best.’ And here we are.”
The timing is intriguing in another way. Just one month ago, Burns was a 17-foot putt away from forcing a playoff in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. He was the 54-hole leader in the U.S. Open at Oakmont the previous year, slowed on the back nine by having to play on rain-soaked fairways that affected his shots and led to a 78.
The four players closest to him — Fox and Kim two shots behind, British Open newcomer Ryan Gerard (69) and Lucas Herbert (71) three shots back — have never won a major. Herbert and Burns each shot 62 on Friday just 22 minutes apart.
“I think Sam Burns is going to be a man possessed,” Herbert said. “Given his results in majors and him not winning one, I think he’s going to be very tough to beat. I’m not thrilled about giving him a three-shot head start, but we are where we are.”
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DeChambeau, four shots behind along with Ludvig Aberg (67) and Jackson Suber (70), is the only player among the top 10 who has won a major, the U.S. Open in 2020 and 2024.
Scheffler plays practice rounds at most majors with Burns, a close friend with whom he often share houses on the road.
“I know how good he is,” Scheffler said. “Sometimes you just need to continue to build that experience and put yourself in the positions. He was close at the U.S. Open last year. He was close again at the U.S. Open this year. … But it’s just a matter of continuing to give yourself opportunities, continuing to knock on the door.”
Scheffler sounded as though he could have been describing his own week at Royal Birkdale. The defending champion has looked every bit like the No. 1 player in the world from tee to green. Scheffler just can’t seem to make a putt.
Such was the case again Saturday in his round of 70 that left him six shots behind. Scheffler had gone 34 holes without a bogey until missing from 3 1/2 feet for par on the 16th hole.
“I haven’t had many bogeys over the course of the week,” he said. “I just haven’t made enough birdies.”
Also still hanging onto hope was Southport’s own Tommy Fleetwood, who had a 69 and was five shots behind.
Also six back was Jon Rahm, who recovered from a double bogey on the first hole for a 70, and Xander Schauffele, who had a 66 that felt worse playing alongside Fox.
Eight players were separated by four shots going into the final round on a course that is baked and brown and running fast but with wispy rough that really makes avoiding bunkers the biggest challenge. The wind has not been very strong since the opening round, even in the afternoon.
