It’s an assertion too simplistic and even somewhat insulting, but there’s one primary reason Sam Burns is one of the 12 players on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Putting.
Period.
Burns is one of the best putters in the world, and just as putting decides tournaments, putting will decide this Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
Burns is ranked No. 1 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: putting, putting inside 10 feet and total one-putts between 10 and 15 feet. He ranks second in total putts per round, No. 3 in three-putt avoidance and No. 4 in putts per round.
Asked why he’s such a good putter, Burns said, “I try to keep my putting very simple. It’s something that I train on every day and try to just make sure I’m starting the ball on line consistently.
“I think the biggest thing with putting is just to have a lot of acceptance. There’s a lot of imperfections on greens, so many things can happen for the ball to go in or not to go in. So for me, I just go through my process of trying to hit a good putt and then once I hit the putt, let it go.’’
Burns said being known as one of the best putters in the game is “obviously a nice compliment.’’
“I try not to really focus on the results,’’ Burns said. “I think it’s just a by-product of your training and what you do to prepare. That’s what I try to focus on the most.’’
Ben Griffin called Burns “one of the most confident putters in the world.’’
“He’s a really aggressive putter who’s not scared,’’ Griffin said. “If he misses a putt, he’s not afraid to hit it a few feet by because he’s going to make the one coming back. That’s the type of player you want on a Ryder Cup team. It’s going to be fun to watch him make a bunch of putts at Bethpage.’’
Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, is one of Burns’ closest friends and likely will be paired with him at least once this week, and always takes note of Burns’ putting and gleans what he can.
“He’s got really good technique,’’ he said. “His fundamentals are really good. He works on them daily.’’
Scheffler believes the secret sauce for Burns is his belief that every putt is going in.
“Sam does as a great a job of being free over a putt as anybody I’ve ever seen,’’ he said. “Mentally, he’s really tough. He does a really good job of staying free and loose while he’s putting. He does his little aim-point stuff, he does it very quickly and he kind of gets an idea where he wants to, and then it’s like everything else shuts off and he just hits it.
“It’s pretty impressive. I’ve talked to him about it numerous times, the way he does it. That’s kind of something that’s helped my putting as well, trying to become more athletic, be more visual.
“I think we all can learn from each other out here. Just because you’re good at one thing doesn’t mean you can’t learn from somebody else. His consistency with the putter is pretty amazing, because you’ll get guys that have really good putting years and then tail off. But Sam, year in and year out, is right on top.’’
J.J. Spaun praised Burns and Russell Henley as “great putters’’ and noted a common denominator in their methods.
“They’re just very deliberate in their routines and their deliveries,’’ Spaun said. “They’ve got a good tempo with routine and they don’t second-guess. They pick their spots and go. The thing with great putters is just how often the ball goes in the hole, and that just kind of breeds more putts going in.
“Sam knows he’s going to start the ball online, he knows he’s going to have good speed, it’s just whether it goes in or not.’’
