JOURNAL SPORTS
Lincoln Parish resident Sam Burns, who led until the final three holes of the U.S. Open last month, tees off early today in golf’s final 2025 major, the Open Championship, as play begins at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
Burns has made the cut three times in his four British Open starts – 2021, 2022 and 2024, when he had his best finish in the event (T31). But his major profile soared last month as a brilliant second-round 65 at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club vaulted him into the lead at the U.S. Open, a position he held until heavy rains created havoc down the stretch.
The Choudrant resident wound up seventh after a closing 78, with the sloppy course conditions a factor and a pivotal ruling by USGA officials contributing to a double bogey on the 15th hole that dropped him out of the top spot.
But he played exceptionally well in rainy weather a couple of weeks earlier at the The Memorial, where the precipitation did not pool in spots as it did at Oakmont. His ability to perform in the rain will almost certainly be put to the test this week as there’s a wet forecast for each of the four days at Royal Portrush.
This will be the 22nd start for the 28-year-old Shreveport native in one of the four major championships. He is one of 22 golfers entering the weekend who made the cut in all three of the 2025 majors – The Masters, PGA and U.S. Open. Burns is on a current streak of five consecutive majors with made cuts.
He is 22nd in the Official World Golf Rankings, 13th among Americans as he eyes a second USA Ryder Cup Team invitation next month. A dozen Americans will make the team.
He is paired for the first 36 holes with five-time major champion Brooks Koepka and South African Aldrich Potgieter.
The 28-year-old Shreveport native, a former golfer at Calvary Baptist and college player of the year at LSU, has been sharp since The Masters, posting seven top 20 finishes in his last 10 outings.
Burns will tee off before you read this. He goes out today at 9:47 a.m. British Summer Time which is six hours ahead of time back home, so he will start at 3:47 a.m. CT. Friday, Burns will play in one of the final 10 groups in the afternoon in Ireland, which means an 8:48 a.m. CT tee time.
The tournament will be televised by Peacock, USA Network and NBC Sports over the course of the four days. Peacock streaming will have the first tee times on both Thursday and Friday beginning at 12:30 a.m. CT with USA Network picking up coverage at 3 a.m. CT.
Saturday coverage will begin at 4 a.m. CT and Sunday at 3 a.m. CT on USA Network with NBC Sports coverage beginning at 6 a.m. both days for the final two rounds.
Mike Tirico will host with Dan Hicks, Terry Gannon, Steve Sands and Tom Abbott calling the action along with the usual NBC/Golf Channel analysts including former LSU golfer Smylie Kaufman.
