[Golf Topic] Burns Jumps to 18th in World Rankings... Willett Asks "Did You See the Birthday Win?"

Sam Burns is holding the trophy and posing for a commemorative photo immediately after winning the Sanderson Farms Championship. Jackson, USA = Getty Images / Multibits

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] ○…"World Ranking 25th → 18th."

‘Sanderson Farms Championship Champion’ Sam Burns (USA) rose 7 spots to 4.97 points in the weekly official golf world rankings announced on the afternoon of the 4th (Korean time). On the morning of the same day, at the Jackson Golf Course in Mississippi, USA (par 72, 7,461 yards), he scored 5 under par on the final day of the 2nd event of the 2021/2022 PGA Tour season, the Sanderson Farms Championship (total prize money $7 million), securing a 1-stroke victory (22 under par, 266 strokes) and accumulating points.

Burns is a ‘25-year-old young gun’ who advanced to the PGA Tour immediately after winning the 2018 Korn Ferry (2nd tier) Tour Savannah Championship. He successfully made a smooth transition with three top 10 finishes, including a tie for 3rd place in this tournament in November 2018, and finally achieved his first win at the Valspar Championship last May. Despite runner-up finishes at the May AT&T Byron Nelson and the August FedEx St. Jude Invitational, his number of wins was lacking. He relieved that disappointment by securing his second career win early in the new season.

It is interesting that Danny Willett (England) won the European Tour Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (total prize money $5 million) on his birthday. His world ranking also soared 69 spots from 170th to 101st. The ‘Top 5’?Jon Rahm (Spain), Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, and Xander Schauffele (all USA)?remain unchanged. For Korea, Im Sung-jae (23) is 29th, Kim Si-woo (26) is 44th, and Lee Kyoung-hoon (30, both CJ Logistics) is 60th in order.