A birdie on the next was enough to secure his place in the championship match where the reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year was awaiting. Scheffler had his chance to slam the door shut on the second playoff hole, but once his birdie bid slid by, Burns smelled blood in the water.

The crowd favorite wouldn't go down without a rebuttal, as a birdie on the closing par 4 meant extra holes were required. 13 and 15 before a pinpoint iron shot on 17 force-fed Scheffler a taste of his own medicine. Burns absorbed his competitor's counterattack and clawed even with birdies on Nos. Scheffler's lead doubled with a birdie on the 10th – his fourth in five holes – and his march to successfully defending his WGC crown was on. I was able to dig deep there on the back nine and started to challenge him a little bit more.'

I knew he was going to battle back and I didn't have my best stuff halfway through the round. 'I love him to death, but he's really good at golf and very frustrating to play. 'I knew it was going to be a tough match with Scottie,' said Burns. By the time the two took to the inward half, it was the Texan, not the Louisianan, who was in command. Scheffler battled back with a flurry of his own. 3 Rory McIlroy ahead of the 2023 Masters – the lone major championship missing from his career grand slam aspirations.Īn exclamation point put on the newly budding player-caddie relationship of Young and Paul Tesori would have made for a nice story with the parallels drawn to Scheffler and his caddie, Ted Scott, abundant and already in sharpie for some.Įven when Burns shot out in front of his pal Scheffler, 3 UP through the first three holes of the semifinals, the inevitability of the world No. The day began destined to crown defending champion Scottie Scheffler or heighten the expectations for world No. To come here for my first time and play as well as I did and get to compete against the best players in the world, I am so grateful and I don't know what else to say, I can't think straight right now.' 'Coming into this week I was really looking forward to this event - it's the first time I've played it and I knew I wanted to win it cause it's the last one. That didn't matter to the 26-year-old, however, as he throttled Cameron Young 6 & 5 in the championship match at Austin Country Club to claim the fifth, and biggest, title of his PGA Tour career. When the sun rose Sunday morning, Sam Burns was the least likely remaining candidate to claim the 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.

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