Sam Burns Ready for Major Moment at 2026 Open Championship

Sam Burns began the 2026 Open Championship with a 3-over 73 on Thursday and made his distaste for links golf known on Friday. Headed into Sunday at Royal Birkdale, he carries a two-shot lead with the best opportunity of his career to win his first major championship.

After burning the edge with a birdie attempt on the 72nd hole at Shinnecock Hills a month ago to finish one shot behind Wyndham Clark at the U.S. Open, Burns fought back tears during his press conference as he reflected on what could have been. If you had told him then that he would have another golden chance to win a major this year, he wouldn’t have believed you. In fact, he didn’t even expect to be at Royal Birkdale this week.

His wife was pregnant, and Gabby Herzig of The Athletic reported at the time that Burns didn’t plan to make the trip to England.

“This golf tournament was honestly so far off of my radar and expectations of playing,” Burns said on Saturday. “Caroline's due date was Tuesday this week…I just didn't think there was any possible way, and little Belle had different plans for us.”

His daughter arrived early, and his wife ultimately encouraged him to make the trip overseas — a decision Burns could be grateful for on Sunday evening.

Sam hasn’t always been a strong major championship player. Over his first 16 major starts, he had never finished better than T-20. But over the last three years, the 29-year-old American has evolved into one of the best major championship golfers in the world. Perennially one of the top putters on the PGA Tour, Burns has steadily improved his ball-striking to where he can now hold his own from tee to green on the most demanding championship tests.

Over the last six major championships contested, including this Open, Burns has been in the mix late in four. He played in the final pairing at last summer’s U.S. Open, the penultimate pairing at this year’s Masters, and narrowly missed out on a playoff at the U.S. Open just a month ago.

But Burns’ close calls in majors have somewhat obscured the fact that the five-time Tour winner hasn’t actually won a golf tournament since 2023.

“I feel like at times I've played well enough to win, and also I feel like there's times where maybe I've back-doored a top 10 or back-doored a top five,” he admitted. “So it looks really good on paper, but I haven't necessarily felt as close as maybe I thought I should to win.”

On Sunday, Burns will step onto the first tee as the clear favorite with a chance to remove his name from the list of the best active players without a major win. The championship isn’t quite sitting on his fingertips — a two-shot lead can evaporate rapidly, and a host of worthy challengers are waiting in the wings — but a solid performance from Burns will force the field to produce a special round to beat him.

Win or lose, Burns says he is ready to accept whatever Sunday brings, glory or yet another heartbreak.

“Someone's going to go out and play a great round of golf tomorrow, maybe a few people,” Burns said after the third round. “So I'm going to have to do the same. I'm going to have to go out and execute. Ultimately whatever happens, I know that I can accept the outcome, and life's going to move on. I'll get to go home and see my family. I hope I'm taking some hardware with me, but if I'm not, that's fine too.”