WGC DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY

March 26, 2023

Sam Burns

Austin Country Club

Quick Quotes - Finals

Q. Five days of grueling match play and you saved your best for last. Why do you believe you're the last man standing?

SAM BURNS: Oh, what a week. I'm so tired. Yeah, it was fun playing Cam today. I know he didn't have his best stuff, but it was a great match. I mean, I feel like I got off to kind of a -- not a great start, but felt like I kind of found something at the end of my match this morning with Scottie, and I was able to carry that on this afternoon.

Q. In some ways, this week may be representative of your entire season, a slow start. What have you found specifically over the last couple of weeks?

SAM BURNS: I think the work that my coach and I have done, Brad, and really our whole team is just really try to stack one good swing after another, and that's what I tried to do today and tried to do the last couple weeks. Just really trying to put the hard work in and it's nice to see it kind of paying off on the golf course.

Q. Fifth win on the PGA TOUR. What's it mean to win this event, the grind it was against the field that you just beat?

SAM BURNS: It means a lot. I've been in a playoff in a WGC before and I ultimately did not get it done. So to have the opportunity today, very honored to have that opportunity to compete against Cam, who is one of the best players in the world. I'm very please.

Q. You put it on him. Starting at the 4th hole you birdied seven of the next nine holes to pull away and win. You're really rolling the rock.

SAM BURNS: Yeah, my putter was really good today. I think for us -- Travis and I were just trying to get as many opportunities as we could. I've been putting it well all week and I knew that if we could just get the ball in position, give ourselves lots of chances, hopefully they would go in.

Q. How did you regroup? That was a grind against Scottie to win that. How did you calm yourself down and get ready to win this?

SAM BURNS: Yeah, I knew after the start I got on Scottie, 3-up through 3, I knew it was going to be battle. I knew he was going to make a run. I kind of lost my game a little bit halfway through the round and I was really pleased with how I finished and I ultimately to come away with the win.

Q. Emotional day. You take out your good friend, Scottie, and then you buzz through this championship match. What did you bring to the golf course today?

SAM BURNS: I don't know. I'm so tired. I just, I think this morning, just trying to keep battling. I knew it was going to be tough against Scottie and kind of half way through the round just got a little lost out there. Travis said, Keep your head down, keep fighting. I was able to hit some really good shots and made that putt there on the 21st hole. But I knew that it was going to be a great match against Cam, he's been playing so well all week. Probably played the best of anyone all week. To be able to battle with him today it was a blast.

Q. You've admitted you have not played your best the last few months. To get this championship, how impactful is that that you were able to battle out of this valley?

SAM BURNS: Yeah, it's huge. Professional golf is hard. It's not easy at times and I've been really struggling with my golf swing. Just didn't quite have the command that I wanted. Wasn't able to hit some of the shots that I usually am able to. So a huge thank you to my coach Brad, he's just been rock solid and helped me a lot.

Q. You know what it takes to win emotionally and mentally, strategically, everything in a stroke play event. What did this take out of you in match play?

SAM BURNS: I could fall down on the ground and go to sleep right now. I'm exhausted. I think just trying to battle and give myself every opportunity to compete on every hole and ultimately for me the goal is trying to get as many looks as I could with my putter. I was putting it really well all week and it kind of got me through there.

Q. Final thing. You move to Augusta National now. What kind of optimism do you have after this win?

SAM BURNS: I don't know, to be honest. This hasn't really sunk in and I'm looking forward to getting home and sleeping in my own bed tonight.