As the sun rose on Sunday morning, Sam Burns was the least likely remaining contender to win the 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. However, the 26-year-old didn’t care as he throttled Cameron Young 6 & 5 in the championship game at the Austin Country Club to clinch the fifth and biggest title of his PGA Tour career.
“It was very tough. What a great week,” said Burns. “Coming into this week I was really looking forward to this event – it’s the first time I’ve played it and I knew I wanted to win it because it was the last time. That was an absolute blast for me. Coming here for the first time and playing as good as me and being able to compete against the best players in the world. I’m so grateful and I don’t know what else to say, I’m not thinking straight right now.”
The day began by crowning defending champion Scottie Scheffler or raising expectations for world No. 3 Rory McIlroy ahead of the 2023 Masters – the only major championship missing from his career Grand Slam aspirations.
An exclamation mark on Young and Paul Tesori’s burgeoning player-caddy relationship would have made for a nice story, with the parallels to Scheffler and his caddy Ted Scott abounding and already in sharpie for some.
Even as Burns shot 3 UPs through the first three holes of the semifinals ahead of his pal Scheffler, the inevitability of world No. 1 was still felt. Scheffler fought back with a riot of his own. As the two went into the inner half, it was the Texan, not the Louisian, who was in charge.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match with Scottie,” Burns said. “I love him to death but he’s really good at golf and very frustrating to play. I got off to a great start. I knew he was going to hit back and I didn’t have my best stuff halfway through the round. I was able to dig deep there on the back nine and started challenging him a little bit more.”
Scheffler’s lead doubled with a birdie on the 10th – his fourth in five holes – and his march to successfully defending his WGC crown was on. Burns absorbed his competitor’s counterattack and even scraped with birdies in 13th and 15th place before a pinpoint iron shot on 17 Scheffler gave a taste of his own medicine.
The crowd favorite would not go down without refutation as a birdie on the final par 4 required extra holes. Scheffler had his chance to slam the door on the second playoff hole, but when his birdie bid slipped past, Burns smelled blood in the water. A closest yardage was enough to secure his spot in the championship game, which featured the reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year.
While Young was arguably the most impressive player over the first four days, playing his first 81 holes (five games) in 32 under, it was Burns who now felt destined to win. The Bronx bomber won just one hole, the second par-4, in the title shot and secured an early 1 UP advantage. While Young slowed as the physical demands of 72 holes in two days began to rear its ugly head, Burns sped up.
Eight birdies over the final 10 holes – he had a total of 48 birdies for the week – turned a small deficit into a bloated lead as Burns’ putter got hotter than a summer’s day at Lake Travis. By the time the pair left the par-4 13th green, Burns had a 6 UP lead and the final World Golf Championship trophy on his hands.
Burns, who won three times in the 2021/22 season, has often taken the back seat to his American counterparts like Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay and Max Homa, despite a comparable number of trophies. His performance at Austin is just another reminder if he’s world No. 10 — especially his searing putter — and able to compete and win those bigger championships.
The major championship resume needs to improve if his notoriety is to rise, but he remains just 26 years old — the same age as his good friend Scheffler, who had a similarly dominating performance at Austin in Augusta, Georgia, just two, in one green jacket transformed weeks later.
“I don’t know, to be honest,” Burns said of his expectations for Masters 2023. “It hasn’t really arrived yet and I’m looking forward to coming home tonight and sleeping in my own bed.”
Rick Gehman is joined by Kyle Porter, Mark Immelman and Greg DuCharme to recap Sam Burns’ win at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play. It’s a match-by-match synopsis, storylines, best bets, and one & done. Follow and listen to The First Cut Apple Podcasts And Spotify.
Here’s the breakdown for the rest of the WGC-Dell Matchplay 2023 leaderboard.
Cameron Young (finale): Young didn’t make it in the Finals against Burns, but he excelled all week and was among the best players at Austin Country Club. I say among the best players because matchplay doesn’t always reward the best players in a given week. In Young’s case, however, it was when he made 40 birdies and an eagle on his first 100 holes and played them at 39 under par. He was fairly flawless until the championship game, where he failed to get him out of neutral and Burns made him pay for it. It was another second-place finish (that’s five of his last 22 starts worldwide), but also his first truly great performance on the PGA Tour of the year. It came with new caddy Paul Tesori on the bag and it’s a reminder that Young is likely to be an absolute threat again at the majors this year. Rating: A+
Rory McIlroy (semifinals): Playing his first six matches in -37, McIlroy somehow didn’t play for the title after being turned on his head by Cam Young in an extra-hole thriller on Sunday morning. Regardless, it was a successful week for McIlroy, who hit perhaps the best shot of the year on Thursday in the second round on the 18th green against Denny McCarthy. The four-time Major winner appeared to be getting over his driving problems from the Players Championship and thrived with a Scotty Cameron putter in his pocket. He’s looking as ready for the Masters as he’s ever been, so all he has to do is go and actually put on the green jacket. Class: A
Jason Day (Quarterfinals): Day has been quietly one of the few best players in the world so far in 2023. He made it to Saturday’s afternoon games before falling to the ultimate buzz saw in Scheffler, who made eight birdies against him and almost made a hole-in-one to knock him out on the 17th hole in their fifth game of the week end. Regardless, there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic as Day heads into the Masters — and main season in general — this year. Class: A
Jon Rahm (group game): Rahm lost to both Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel in the group stage. It wasn’t a total disaster, but there is reason to be concerned about going to Augusta. He was 5-over with no yardage on an easy golf course against Horschel and lost to him 5-up. That’s a far cry from the kind of game Rahm put together for most of the first three months of 2023, and while he must be viewed as a problem at the first major of the year, he’s no longer (or even not) the clean cut ). clear) favorite. Grade: D
Will Zalatoris (group game): Zlatoris lost 3 and 2 to Andrew Putnam, 5 and 3 to Harris English and then lost to Ryan Fox in the third round. That’s remarkable because he’s among the top 10 players in the world, but also because he was incredible in the early years of his Masters career. He has only one top 10 finish so far in 2023 and cannot be considered one of the favorites for a tournament he should definitely be considered a favorite for here in two weeks time. Class: F