Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns won their Presidents Cup opener Thursday.
The world’s No. 1 teamed with his dear friend to beat Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im 1 up in the lead-off four-ball match.
Scheffler birdied the first hole to give the Americans an early edge at Medinah Country Club. Lee and Im clawed back and took a brief lead on the par-3 13th. Burns answered immediately on the next hole. He stuck an 8-iron approach to 2 feet for a birdie that squared the match.
Lee missed a par putt on 17, putting the Americans 1 up. Scheffler then saved par on 18 with a difficult bunker shot. Im needed a 41-foot birdie putt to force a tie. His attempt caught the cup but slid several feet past the hole.
Sam Burns Opens Up on Playing Alongside Scottie Scheffler
After the match, Burns described what it means to compete alongside Scheffler.
“It’s always a good feeling when you’ve got this guy by your side,” Burns said. “He’s gonna be in every hole and he’s gonna compete as hard as he can.”
Scheffler and Burns have been close friends since their junior golf days. They shared a hug moments after their on-course television interview. Burns then opened up about the relief of finally winning together.
The success marked their first victory together in five tries across the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup. The pair had gone 0-3-1 in previous team competitions dating to 2022.
“We certainly haven’t had the results that we’ve hoped for,” Burns said. “I feel like at times in the past we’ve played pretty well and just gotten beat. So it probably just was a little bit of a sigh of relief to finally get a point and just kind of let that out.”
Scheffler kept his response short and let his longtime friend do the talking.
Thursday’s Results and Friday’s Foursomes Ahead
Team USA leads the International team 3-2 heading into Friday. Play shifts to foursomes, or alternate-shot format, for five matches Friday afternoon. Captain Brandt Snedeker kept Scheffler and Burns together to lead off again.
Scheffler and Burns face Corey Conners and Nick Taylor at 2:05 p.m. ET. Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman take on Im and Hideki Matsuyama next. Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa meet Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee in the third match.
Justin Thomas pairs with Cameron Young against Adam Scott and Christiaan Bezuidenhout. Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay close the day against Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim.
Jackson Koivun and Chris Gotterup sit out for the Americans on Friday.
Team USA has won 10 straight Presidents Cups and seeks its 11th. The Americans hold a 13-1-1 record across the event’s 15 previous editions. Thirty points are up for grabs this week, with 15.5 needed to win.
Sam Burns Makes Personal Admission on Best Friend Scottie Scheffler During Presidents Cup