JOURNAL SPORTS
HAMILTON, Ontario – Sam Burns turned good vibes into a great round early Thursday on the first day of the RBC Canadian Open at the par-70 Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
The Shreveport native and Calvary Baptist grad, a two-time LSU All-American before turning pro in 2017, shot a 7-under 63 in the early morning wave of competitors and finished the day one shot back of Englishman David Skinns and tied with 2011 Canadian Open champ Sean O’Hair.
Burns, 27, now a Choudrant resident who plays out of Squire Creek Country Club in Lincoln Parish, had a fourth-place finish in this event in 2022. He is a spokesman for the tournament sponsor, RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) Wealth Management, and can been seen in its TV commercials.
Earlier this month, Sam and his wife Caroline, also a Shreveport native, became parents to infant son Bear Burns. Dad is relishing his new role, and said after Thursday’s round that he suddenly is eager to leave the golf course and get home on a regular basis. Caroline and Bear will soon join him for a three-week trip on the PGA Tour that will include next month’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst in North Carolina.
All that, and Thursday was the birthday of Burns’ caddy, Travis Perkins.
So Burns, who while missing the cut in three of his last five starts has been home practicing on a soft Squire Creek course that has absorbed plenty of rain recently, had good vibes and familiar conditions Thursday. He recorded two eagles and a birdie across a six-hole stretch to rocket up the leaderboard.
“I think with all the rain we had (in Hamilton) early in the week the greens are still pretty receptive,” Burns said. “It makes a big difference on par 5s when you have a long iron or a wood coming in there to be able to stop the ball pretty quick. That makes a huge difference. So I think that was really the difference in my round today. Making two eagles. Kind of kick started me and it was overall a solid round.”
After a 7:18 a.m. tee time Thursday, Burns, former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland and Canadian Adam Svensson start today’s round at 12:33 EDT (11:33 CDT). Golf Channel will have coverage beginning at 2 p.m. CDT.
Woodland said after Thursday’s round that he didn’t think the golf course was easy until he watched Burns take it apart.
