The 18th hole at TPC Sawgrass is one of the most difficult on the PGA Tour, with the 450-yard par 4 providing an intimidating finish from beginning to end.
With water left of the fairway, the bail out is to the right but, this doesn’t mean you’re safe, with out of bounds lurking, along with many trees. In the case of Sam Burns, who was sat on the one-under-par cutline number, he would need a par to the make the weekend of the $25 million event.
Fanning his tee shot to the right, Burns was left just a few feet from the hospitality tent and, after the debacle of moving fans out of the way, the American was eventually faced with a shot over the trees some 150-yards away!
Playing at +0.280, the 18th hole has ranked as the second hardest hole all week and, with a par needed, Burns somehow pulled out a miraculous shot that just finished short of the green. His work wasn’t done there though…
Now short-sided and with the ball above his feet in thick rough, the Ryder Cup star was faced with a tough up-and-down to make it into the weekend. Burns though, is one of the more laid-back characters on the PGA Tour and, after opening up the face of his wedge, he played a stunning chip to near gimme range to relax the situation.
Rolling in the putt for par, the six-time PGA Tour winner made the cut at TPC Sawgrass for a third consecutive year but will need two big rounds to force himself up the leaderboard at The Players Championship. Burns can take some confidence from his 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge victory, where he overcame a seven stroke deficit on the final day to win. This matched Nick Price in 1994 for largest comeback in a final round to win at Colonial Country Club.
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golf Monthly…