Sam Burns on Sunday won the Sanderson Farms Championship by one shot to claim his second PGA Tour victory. The event, hosted by Sanderson Farms, was held at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi.
Burns, who shot a five under 67 on Sunday, ended the week at 22 under par after rounds of 68 (Thursday), 66 (Friday), and 65 (Saturday) and held off Nick Watney by one shot for the win. Burns birdied holes 11, 13, 14, and 15 to go up two shots with three holes to play before a bogey on the final hole. Thirteen players were within two shots of the lead at one point or another on Sunday.
“I think last year having those experiences around the lead, I think those were really important for me, I learned a lot,” Burns said to Golfweek following the win. “Having that under my belt today, that experience was definitely helpful and coming down the stretch I felt a lot different than I have in the past and not necessarily more confident but just in a better state of mind and thinking process was much better.
The win marks the second of Burns’ career following his victory at the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook in May. Burns lost in a playoff at the WGC-Fedex St. Jude Invitational in Memphis in August and was one shot away from a playoff at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February.
PGA Tour winners receive a two-season extension of playing privileges in tour events, 500 FedEx Cup points, a spot in the field at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, and exemptions into the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, Players Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational, and the Memorial Invitational. Burns, who has already won in the last year, was ranked highly in the FedEx Cup standings and Official World Golf Ranking heading into the Sanderson Farms Championship. With the win this week, Burns moved from 25th in the world rankings to 18th.
Burns’ score of -22 is the lowest since the tournament was moved to the Country Club of Jackson in 2014 and just eclipsed Cameron Champ’s winning score of -21 in 2018.
Sergio Garcia was the defending champion of the event.
The main benefactor of the Sanderson Farms Championship is the Children’s of Mississippi, the state’s only children’s hospital. The tournament also donates a portion of the proceeds to 62 additional Mississippi charities. The total amount raised by the 2021 tournament will be announced later this year, Sanderson said in a press release. The 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship will fall on the same week next year, September 26 to October 2, 2022.
