SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — Sam Burns tossed his putter aside, fell to his palms and then down to his knees. The crowd around him groaned.
He was that close to sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole to tie leader Wyndham Clark at the U.S. Open and instead missed just right by a half-inch — maybe.
"I really thought I made that putt," Burns said after shooting a 67 Sunday to get to 3 under for the tournament and go into the clubhouse one stroke behind Clark.
“It just didn't go in.”
Burns sat down in the scoring tent, let out an exasperated sigh and put his hands on his head. He could only watch as Clark birdied No. 16, bogeyed 17 and two-putted in on 18 to win by the single shot Burns did not make down the stretch.
"I felt like I was chasing all day," Burns said. “It's unfortunate I just came up one short.”
The heartbreak at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island came a year after Burns' miserable finish at the U.S. Open at Oakmont outside Pittsburgh. He led after two rounds, played in the final group Sunday and everything fell apart in the rain when he shot 78 to fall out of contention and into a tie for seventh.
Burns was brilliant Sunday in his bid for retribution. Entering the final round at even par, seven back of Clark, Burns birdied three of his first eight holes to move past Scottie Scheffler and others into second place.
“To start the day seven shots back, I knew it was going to take something really special,” Burns said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better start.”
Clark bogeying three of his first seven holes made it close, but Burns was never able to pull into a tie for first. Three-putting at No. 15 put him in a difficult spot, and he thought the back nine was playing difficult.
With Clark shooting the same back-nine 35, Burns felt differently following this loss than a year ago, saying, “The guy who played the best won.”
It just wasn't him.
“Last year at Oakmont, I felt like more I lost the golf tournament,” Burns said. "I certainly don’t feel that way today. I gave it my best, and I did everything I could to have a chance to win.”
When Burns was hitting balls on the driving range Sunday night, his dad, Tom came over with a fatherly message on Father's Day.
“He just said he was really proud,” Sam Burns said as he got choked up. “I think we both knew how special it could have been for Father’s Day. But I know he’s proud.”
Burns' wife, Caroline, is 37 weeks pregnant with the couple's second child, he said. Burns played with 2-year-old son Bear while waiting for Clark to finish and left the course with life perspective after another difficult defeat.
“It’s a crazy life we live sometimes,” Burns said. “As a competitor, you want to go out there and compete as hard as you can and try to win. But at the end of the day, when you’re off the golf course, it’s really not that important and family is a lot more important than golf.”
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