Sam Burns is teeing it up at Royal Birkdale after all, reversing weeks of speculation that a new baby would keep him home instead of chasing his first major.
The reversal lands one month after Burns’ mother all but closed the door on a trip to England, leaving fans to wonder what changed inside the family’s timeline.
Burns and his wife, Caroline Campbell Burns, are expecting their second child, with the due date lining up almost exactly with this week’s 154th Open Championship. The couple already has a son, Bear, born in early 2025, and that collision of calendars fueled a month of guesswork about whether the 29-year-old would skip the year’s final major entirely.
Sam Burns’ Open Championship U-Turn
The guesswork intensified after Burns’ runner-up finish at the U.S. Open.
“He won’t go to Europe. This is his last major. They’re going to go home and have a baby,” Burns’ mother, Beth, said, as quoted by The Athletic.
Burns himself never confirmed that plan. He said only that Caroline was 37 weeks pregnant and that he’d play the Travelers Championship the following week, where he tied for 12th. He then sat out the Genesis Scottish Open, a decision that read to most observers as the final signal he was staying stateside.
Instead, Burns showed up at Royal Birkdale on Monday and worked through a practice round starting from the 10th hole, locking in his spot in the 156-man field. He’s set to open Thursday at 2:31 p.m. local time alongside Adam Scott and Chris Gotterup. No word yet on whether the baby has arrived, and Burns has offered no public explanation for the seeming change of plans.
Sam Burns’ Near-Miss at the U.S. Open
The pull toward one more major run makes sense given how June ended for Burns at the U.S. Open. He shot a final-round 67 at Shinnecock Hills, the second-lowest score of the day, climbing from seven shots back to briefly hold the clubhouse lead at 3-under.
He birdied four of his first eight holes and added another at the par-5 16th, turning a quiet Sunday into a real threat at Shinnecock Hills. Then birdie putts on 17 and 18 both slid by, the second one lipping out from roughly 15 feet and erasing any shot at a playoff.
Burns watched winner Wyndham Clark finish from the driving range, settling for a solo-second finish that remains the best major result of his career. That performance, worth $2.43 million, came stacked on top of a season that already included top-10 finishes at Pebble Beach, the Masters and the Memorial Tournament.
Burns is ranked 18th in the world and 10th in the FedEx Cup standings, riding four straight top-20 finishes into Royal Birkdale. He hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since the WGC Match Play in March 2023, but his form heading into the year’s last major is as strong as it’s been all season.
He’s a five-time PGA Tour winner without a major to his name, and this will be his sixth try at the Open. His best finish so far is a tie for 31st, set at Royal Troon in 2024. Now, with a new baby on the way and a heartbreak at Shinnecock still fresh, Burns gets one more crack at breaking through.
Sam Burns Reveals Personal Decision Days Before British Open