Sam Burns on Sunday after his birdie on the second gap of a playoff.
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PALM HARBOR, Fla. — This Valspar match that ended on Sunday, the final moments of the month-long Florida Swing, was the throwback of throwbacks. The entire thing, actually. The course, the clubhouse, the leaderboard. A bunch of younger Southern golfers, out of outdated Southern universities, contending. Paint cans for tee markers. Reserved parking areas for former winners painted with all of your favourite Valspar paint colours.
A few of you bear in mind the Tour in its Southern period, when a fan in a T-shirt screamed “Free Chicken” at rolling putts in Atlanta and Greensboro and Charlotte. Paging Jerry Pate and Andy Bean, and, whereas we’re at it, Davis Love and Justin Leonard. Properly, on Sunday right here, on the final day of the month-long Florida Swing, this Tour was Southern once more. This Sunday afternoon was no-fuss, no-pontificating, get-it-done golf.
Your protagonists:
Matthew NeSmith, 28-year-old South Carolina native who went to South Carolina;
Justin Thomas, additionally 28, a son of Louisville who went to Alabama;
His triple-bogey 8 was powerful to observe. What got here subsequent was a lot better
Davis Riley, 25, born and raised in Hattiesburg, Miss., and an Alabama golfer a couple of years after Thomas;
Sam Burns, additionally 25, a Shreveport native who performed school golf at LSU.
Earlier than heading to a resort ballroom that had been transformed into the participant locker room, Thomas gave Riley a bro hug and mentioned, “You realize what to do.” Thomas was one shot out of the Riley-and-Burns playoff, and he needed to be scorching. However Tide delight is Tide delight.
NeSmith was within the day’s closing twosome. He didn’t take a look at scoreboards. He didn’t fear when issues went south. He mentioned his aim was to “play 18 holes and benefit from the stroll.” How’s that for Southern appeal? He was a shot out of the playoff, too.
One shot higher than these two have been Burns and Riley. Their two-man, sudden-death playoff began on the par-4 18th. It’s one of many hardest issues to do in match golf, to go from stroke play (the primary 72 holes) to match play (the playoff). In stroke play, you’re ready to your probabilities. In match play, it’s a must to seize the second. It’s important to seize it. One of many issues that made Tiger Woods Tiger Woods was his unbelievable means to make that transfer. His PGA Tour playoff file is 11 wins, one loss. Sunday evening right here — a stunning Southern evening, the air cooling and dry — anyone was going to win a playoff.
In 2018, Woods gave Burns the pep discuss of all pep talks. That they had performed collectively on Sunday at Honda. Burns’ top-10 end there acquired him into the next week’s match, which that yr was the Valspar occasion. “He performed fantastically,” Woods mentioned that day. “Prime-10 will get him into Tampa.” Ever since, Woods has had his eye on Burns, as a participant to observe. Burns gained his first Tour occasion right here simply final yr. As Andy Bean as soon as helped Davis Love discover his footing on Tour, Woods did the identical, in his personal approach, for Burns.
One factor any participant learns from watching Woods over time is that you simply don’t have to play good golf, or something prefer it, with the intention to contend. And should you can contend, you’ll be able to win.
After two pars on 18, Burns and Riley went to the par-4 sixteenth gap. Burns hit it quick and within the left tough. Riley was about 25 yards forward of him and within the fairway.
By Burns’ personal admission — by anyone’s admission — benefit Riley.
Burns didn’t care.
His second shot was a pull, too, ending gap excessive however about 40 ft from the opening.
Burns didn’t care.
He buried the putt. Riley’s chip shot didn’t go in. Recreation, set, match. Handshakes.
“I feel prior to now I’d have mentioned that it’s a must to play good in closing rounds to have an opportunity to win, and in actuality, that’s simply not the case,” Burns mentioned. Yep, he’s gained this match in back-to-back years.
“Strolling there off 16, Davis is within the fairway 20 or 30 yards nearer [to the green] than me and I’m within the tough. Odds are in his favor. However everybody is aware of that within the recreation of golf something can occur. That ball went in. It very effectively couldn’t have.”
Something can occur and can.
And naturally he remembered his spherical with Woods from 4 years in the past. “I really feel like I gained some confidence from that spherical,” he mentioned. “It was a cool alternative for me to play with him on a Sunday and simply get to observe him up shut. That was all the time a dream of mine to try this. So it was additionally good that I used to be capable of play rather well that day and in the end top-10 to get into this. It was positively a big day.”
Burns talked about how a golfer is all the time studying, simply as any individual is all the time studying.
Riley washed his Sunday afternoon shirt on Sunday morning.
He remembered first taking part in with Burns after they have been possibly 11 or 12 years outdated, “duking it out.”
He made a triple bogey on 5 as a result of he hit “only a dangerous tee shot.”
Burns and Riley performed one another in highschool and in school and now they’ve confronted one another in a Tour playoff. These two sons of the South. The winner gained with a mediocre tee shot, an OK second — and an ideal putt. Davis Riley is aware of the way it goes. As a result of that’s the way it goes.
“Davis is a heck of a participant,” Burns mentioned. “Davis and I’ve been pals for a very long time. We’ve performed plenty of golf collectively. Sadly, he went to Alabama.”
No, he’s not gonna give it a relaxation.
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