THE AMERICAN EXPRESS

January 20, 2024

Sam Burns

PGA WEST Pete Dye Stadium Course

Quick Quotes

Q. Another solid round for you. A final group going into a Sunday. That's all you can ask for at the start of the week. Feeling happy with where you're at?

SAM BURNS: Yeah, so far, it's been great. I feel like I've kind of progressed as the week's gone on, and was able to post a good number today, so, yeah, it will be fun to go out and compete tomorrow.

Q. They say it's really hard to put another low round together after you go really low. You've already gone low twice this week, once earlier in the week, then obviously yesterday. Today kind of feel similar to yesterday? Maybe just didn't get all the putts to go? How do you compare it?

SAM BURNS: Yeah, I think yesterday I drove it a little bit better. Was able to give myself a few more scoring clubs in my hand. I would say today was a really solid round on the more challenging golf course of the three. So, yeah, I'm excited to go out tomorrow.

Q. What do you remember about your first time in contention, just the nerves you felt? Obviously, Nick in the final group's going to be going through that. What do you remember about your first time and how you felt?

SAM BURNS: Yeah, I think away from the golf course is a little more difficult. I think, once you got out here, you kind of get into your routine, and, obviously, Nick's a great player, and I think he's got a good head on him, so I think it's going to be a really tough challenge for us tomorrow. He's playing really well, and excited to go out and compete against him.

Q. An all-Bama final group, it appears?

SAM BURNS: Yeah, RTR.

Q. Another solid round of golf today. When you shoot a low number, you wonder what you're going to do the next day, but you hung in there today. I thought you fought the swing a little bit off the tee midway through, 7-under's another good score.

SAM BURNS: Yeah, I think, overall, it was a solid day. You know the scores are going to be low at the other golf courses, and I would say this is, obviously, the more challenging golf course, so to be able to compute here and shoot another good round is kind of what we wanted to try to do.

Q. Do you look at that scoreboard much with all the birdies that are being thrown around here?

SAM BURNS: Not really, I think you just kind of expect it. You just kind of know that people are going to be making birdies, so you try to just do the same.

Q. Take me over to 16. You missed the green left with your second shot, and that was an impossible drop. I mean, how did you pull that off?

SAM BURNS: Yeah, don't know how that ball plugged right there. Probably one of the greatest breaks I've ever had. We were just trying to figure out how to get the ball to stop on that slope. Golf balls just don't stop there. Finally was able to find a spot and was able to run out of there with a 4.

Q. Tomorrow, it's an all-SEC final threesome. A guy from LSU, and two Alabama guys. You got JT, Dunlap's in there, talk about tomorrow.

SAM BURNS: I mean, from the outside looking in, I'm the Alabama guy, with RTR on the side of my head, so I guess that makes three of us. But, yeah, it will be fun. I know Justin really well, obviously. I don't know Nick as well. Obviously, a great talent, great player, having a great week, so it will be fun to compete with him.