Sam Burns is headed back to represent the United States.
Again.
Burns officially clinched an automatic spot on the U.S. Presidents Cup team Sunday, giving the 30-year-old his third Presidents Cup appearance and fifth consecutive Team USA appearance across the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup.
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If you’re a diehard golf fan, none of that is particularly surprising.
Burns first represented the United States at the Junior Ryder Cup when he was 18 years old. More than a decade later, he’s a five-time PGA Tour winner, one of the best American golfers in the world and a fixture on U.S. teams.
But this time, something is different.
His son is going to experience it with him.
“Bear this year, he’ll be around the team and get to hang out and really enjoy it,” Burns told OutKick in an exclusive interview on Aug. 18.
Burns and his wife, Caroline, welcomed Bear in April 2024. Their daughter, Belle, arrived on July 3.
Bear is only 2, so he’s still too young to understand what his dad is doing when he represents the United States. Burns knows his children won’t fully comprehend what their dad has accomplished for quite some time.
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But they’re going to grow up watching him wear USA on his chest, and that clearly means something to Burns.
“It is such an honor for me to be able to represent your country and also play for ultimately something a lot bigger than yourself,” Burns said. “And you have teammates that week that you’re playing for and their families.”
Golf is about as individual as sports get.
Most weeks, Burns is trying to beat everyone else in the field.
For a few weeks throughout his career, he’s been playing for something else.
“It’s such a special week,” Burns said. “And it’s a week that I think most guys, when they look back on their career, when it’s over, those will be the weeks that they remember.”
Casual sports fans might not immediately put his name alongside the biggest stars in golf, but his résumé is getting increasingly difficult to overlook.
Burns has won five times on the PGA Tour, though he hasn’t won since 2023. This summer, he came painfully close to winning his first major championship, finishing second at the U.S. Open and third at The Open.
Burns held the 54-hole lead at Royal Birkdale last month before ultimately finishing two shots behind winner Ryan Fox.
He played in the final pairing at the FedEx St. Jude Championship alongside world No. 1 and close friend Scottie Scheffler last weekend. Scheffler ultimately hoisted the trophy, but Burns locked up another top-five finish, his fourth of the 2026 season.
All of that makes him one of the best American golfers casual sports fans might not know, and golf isn’t even the most important thing in his life.
Not even close.
Burns spoke with OutKick at The Highlands Golf & Tennis in St. Louis, where he partnered with Raising Cane’s to work with local kids ahead of the BMW Championship.
The 30-year-old is now a father of two, and OutKick asked him what becoming a dad has taught him about himself.
“I think you don’t realize how impatient you are until you have kids,” Burns said.
He talked about trying to reason with a toddler or newborn who doesn’t understand what Dad is trying to explain. But then Burns got to the part of fatherhood that seems to have changed his perspective the most.
“You feel like they may be an inconvenience at times and then you just realize they want your attention and they want your love,” Burns said. “So it’s really special to be a dad for sure.”
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Burns has already had to put those priorities into practice this year.
Earlier this summer, he was prepared to miss The Open because Caroline was due to give birth around the same time.
Belle arrived early, 13 days before the first round of The Open, and Caroline ultimately encouraged her husband to make the trip to Royal Birkdale.
He went and nearly won the tournament.
This isn’t someone using “golf isn’t everything” as an excuse for being indifferent about golf.
He’s an elite professional athlete who wants to win. He puts an enormous amount of time into trying to become better and has spent this season coming extremely close to one of the few accomplishments still missing from his résumé: a major championship.
But Burns has also spoken openly about his Christian faith and his belief that golf is what he does, not who he is.
Saying that is one thing. Maintaining that perspective while trying to beat the best golfers in the world is another.
OutKick asked Burns if he could remember a moment when golf truly tested his faith.
“Every day,” he said.
Anyone who has ever picked up a club knows golf has a way of doing that.
“You put so many hours and so much effort into something, and a lot of the times you don’t really see the results right away,” Burns said. “You can hit really good shots and end up in bad places, or bad shots end up in good places. Sometimes it seems silly, but ultimately it’s a game that teaches you a lot about life and definitely can make you realize what’s most important.”
For Burns, the perspective comes back to three things: faith, family and country.
Golf matters to him, obviously.
Burns didn’t become a five-time PGA Tour winner, contend for major championships and earn five consecutive Team USA spots without pouring himself into the game.
But Burns also seems to understand the distinction between caring deeply about something and allowing it to define you.
When Burns heads to Medinah next month, not only will he be there representing the United States, but his son Bear will be there to start watching him do it.
Burns has plenty of golf left, and plenty of time to add to an already impressive résumé. A major championship remains out there. So do more PGA Tour wins and, presumably, more opportunities to wear the red, white and blue.
But when Burns eventually looks back on all of it, he already has a pretty good idea which weeks will stand out.
The ones when he was playing for something bigger than himself.
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