SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP

September 28, 2022

Sam Burns

Country Club of Jackson

Press Conference

DOUG MILNE: We'd like to welcome the defending champion of the Sanderson Farms Championship, Sam Burns. Thanks for joining us. I know you're glad to be back and probably a little bit of a good hangover from last week at the Presidents Cup. We'll start with being back here. Obviously you will be back defending several titles. Just how special is that feeling?

SAM BURNS: Yeah, it's awesome. This place is a tournament I look forward to coming back every year, and just so happens this year I get to try to defend from last year. I'm really excited to be here. I love this area, love coming back here, and the people of Jackson have been really good to me.

Yeah, I'm excited.

DOUG MILNE: Just a quick recap from last week. It was your first big team event like that. You were obviously incredibly pivotal to the American team. Just a little bit of a recap on how that felt.

SAM BURNS: Yeah, it was incredible. Definitely probably the most fun I've ever had on the golf course, and just to have a team that week, it's something so rare that we get out here on the PGA TOUR.

To be able to experience a team atmosphere and ultimately be able to win for our country, it was unbelievable.

DOUG MILNE: You're making your sixth start here at the Sanderson Farms. In addition to the win, you also finished third. What is it about being here that suits your game so well?

SAM BURNS: Yeah, I was trying to think on the drive over this morning what number this was. It almost kind of starts running together. It's crazy to me that this is my sixth start here at the Sanderson Farms.

I think coming back here every year, this place is where I started my PGA TOUR career pretty much. It's where I got one of my first starts. To be able to play really well here the last few years means a lot to me. It's a golf course that I really love. It's similar to what I grew up on with Bermudagrass and just the style of the golf course.

I think it just feels like home. It's only a couple hours from where I live, and it's an easy drive. Yeah, it's a place that I really look forward to every year.

Q. When you think back to that first start in 2017, are there any memories or conversations or moments --

SAM BURNS: I remember being really, really nervous. Granted, I expected to be. I mean, I'm nervous every week I tee it up, but especially that week.

I think having a lot of friends and family here was really special, and going out and kind of trying to figure out where my game kind of stacked up against guys on the PGA TOUR, so that's kind of what I remember most.

Q. What do you remember from your first pro start? I think I saw you shot 29 under and didn't win at an event a couple weeks before this.

SAM BURNS: Yeah, 29 under and I didn't win. But I remember making $10,000, and I was like, I don't know how I'm going to spend all this money. I don't know what I'm going to do with it all. But it went fast.

Yeah, I didn't really know what to expect getting into pro golf. I had some expectations kind of built up in my head and didn't expect to shoot 29 under in my first event and not win. I can tell you that.

Q. When you think about how it's been five years since you've been a pro, does it feel like it's flown by or gone longer --

SAM BURNS: It feels like it's flown by. Just trying to think about and reflect on this past year, it just seems like this year went really fast, and then I think about the previous years, and it's like, where has the time gone.

But it's definitely something that I don't take for granted. I'm very honored that I get to play golf for a living, and I get it do it on the best Tour in the world.

I try to make sure that I'm keeping that in the forefront of my mind.

Q. Is there anything from the Presidents Cup that's surprised you in terms of like a guy you learned something about or how you felt or what it was like?

SAM BURNS: None of the guys really just because I feel like I knew them all pretty much just seeing them every week. But I think the energy level of the fans and kind of for me was even more so than what I thought it was going to be. That was really cool.

The fans in Charlotte were absolutely incredible, and it was just an unbelievable week. Still hasn't really hit me I don't think.

Q. How do you keep that energy up from that week coming into this week?

SAM BURNS: Yeah, I think for me, it's just about preparation. The last couple days I've been able to be home and have some downtime and just kind of relax and recover a little bit. But yeah, coming out today I want to do the best I can to prepare myself to tee it up tomorrow, and ultimately that's kind of my plan.

I love coming out here and being able to compete against the best players in the world, and I want to come out here and give it my best.

Q. Can you kind of describe -- you're on TOUR, in the limelight, on TV, and then you go home and it's more quiet. What is it about that lifestyle at home that appeals to you?

SAM BURNS: Well, I think out here sometimes it feels like you live two lives. You're out here on the road playing and then you go home and see friends and people that you don't get to see as much. I didn't really get to see a lot of friends the last couple days, but being able to go home and just relax and just go wander around the grocery store and pick up a few things that my wife needed and no one said anything to me or anything like that was really nice.

I went to Chick-Fil-A yesterday by myself and sat in dining room in Chick-Fil-A. It was great. I just love being able to go back to a small town and just kind of hang out and no one really cares that -- I mean, they do. They obviously care and they support me, but they don't care that I play on the PGA TOUR. They just like me because of who I am, I guess.

Q. What's your Chick-Fil-A order?

SAM BURNS: Yesterday I got a market salad, no bleu cheese. I got an eight-count nugget with some fries and a half-and-half tea. It was really good.

Q. This course, what does it take here at this course to play well do you think? What element of your game is tested the most?

SAM BURNS: Yeah, I think for starters, you have to drive the ball well just because it's really hard to predict out of the Bermuda rough. The greens are obviously really fast, but I think if you get in the right spots on the greens, you can make a lot of putts. The greens roll so pure.

I think it's kind of a combination of driving the ball well and giving yourself a lot of opportunities on the greens.

Q. Not making the Ryder Cup team last year, did you use that as fuel for this year? Kind of looking back at the year, how did that transition into the season you had?

SAM BURNS: Yeah, I think last year that was one of my biggest goals was to make that team. Definitely it was a bummer not to be on the team.

But coming to this year, this past year, I knew I really wanted to be on the Presidents Cup team, and it was good to have that experience.

It was incredible. Now my goal is to try to be on the next Ryder Cup team.

DOUG MILNE: Thanks for coming in.