Sam Burns: National Player of the Year

NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR SAM BURNS

Chasing The Bear

Sam Burns’ reputation as the top player in college golf was confirmed on June 1 of last year when he earned the title of 2017 NCAA Division I Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year presented by Barbasol in conjunction with The Memorial Tournament. He claimed a special place in history with the announcement as he became the first LSU Tiger to ever be named the National Player of the Year for college golf. A unanimous First-Team All-American and the 11th first-teamer in program history, Burns was presented the national award by the legendary Jack Nicklaus himself just three days later on June 4 as part of the PGA TOUR’s Memorial Tournament. Burns was selected among a “Who’s Who” of college golf elite as other finalists included Oregon’s Wyndham Clark, Vanderbilt’s Patrick Martin, Stanford’s Maverick McNealy and Wake Forest’s Will Zalatoris.

SEC Player of the Year

Not only was Burns honored as the NCAA Division I Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year for the 2016-17 season, but he was also an easy selection as the SEC Player of the Year as the top performer in the Southeastern Conference for his sophomore season. He snapped a 26-year drought as the first Tiger to earn the title of SEC Player of the Year since Perry Moss in 1991 while becoming the sixth recipient in school history. LSU’s other SEC Players of the Year include John Salamone in 1979, Rob McNamara in 1987 and David Toms in back-toback seasons in 1988 and 1989.

4-Time Champion

Burns’ sophomore season at LSU was highlighted by four tournament wins to help solidify his claim as the National Player of the Year for the 2016-17 season. His victory at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional helped send the Tigers back to the NCAA Championships once again as he opened with a 7-under 65 in the first round and never looked back en route to a winning 4-under 212 in 54 holes at the University Club. In a battle of the nation’s top two players, Burns defended his home course with his fourth win of the season over Oregon’s Wyndham Clark, who followed in second place with a final score of 3-under par. Burns first shared medalist honors at the David Toms Intercollegiate during the 2016 fall season before adding titles at the Western Refining Sun Bowl All-America Golf Classic and Louisiana Classics en route to a record-setting season.

Scoring Record

After averaging 72.42 strokes per round in his debut season in 201516, Burns smashed LSU’s single-season scoring record with a careerlow 70.05 in his 15 tournament appearances as a sophomore a year ago. Brandon Pierce’s scoring record of 71.16 lasted only two seasons as Burns eclipsed the school’s all-time record by more than one full stroke. LSU legend and PGA TOUR great David Toms held the previous record of 71.27 from the 1988-89 season.

The Streak

Burns carried an unprecedented streak of 14-straight top-10 individual finishes into the NCAA Championships where he closed his career with a tie for 32nd place while helping the Tigers claim a ninthplace team finish for 2017 and fourth-straight top-10 finish since 2014. After opening his sophomore season with tie for sixth place at the Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic, Burns reeled off a run of 14 Top 10s in a row that included four wins at the David Toms Intercollegiate, Western Refining Sun Bowl College Golf Classic, Louisiana Classics and NCAA Baton Rouge Regional along with two other second-place finishes runner-up finishes at the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic and The Prestige at PGA West. Burns ended his career tied for the No. 8 spot on LSU’s career list since the 1981-82 season with 15 top-10 individual finishes in his two seasons.