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Sam Burns made headlines Saturday during the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship when he slam-dunked a 162-yard hole-in-one on the 11th hole.
The ace was Burns’ second in two months. His previous one was in mid-June at the U.S. Open.
Burns walked up to the 157-yard par-3 at TPC Southwind in Memphis and sent his tee shot into the right side of the cup.
The 27-year-old Burns smiled and shared a hug with his caddie, Travis Perkins.
Sam Burns of the United States hits his tee shot on hole No. 7 at TPC Southwind Aug. 11, 2023, in Memphis. (Jason Allen/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
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Burns then raised his 9-iron to the crowd before fellow golf pros Matt Kuchar and Alex Smalley congratulated him. Smalley nailed a hole-in-one at the famed par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass in March at The Players Championship.
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Although Burns achieved something rare, he appeared to be relatively calm when he took the ball from the cup and tossed it behind the green.
“When you’re in 63rd place out of 70 people, there’s not a ton to celebrate,” Burns told Golf Digest about his reaction.
“Yeah, I couldn’t make any putts today, so I figured I’d just get it done on the first shot. It was fun.”
Sam Burns of the United States plays a shot on the tenth hole during the second round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind Aug. 11, 2023, in Memphis. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Burns began the day at TPC Southwind 3-over for the tournament, and the ace helped him get back to even par.
After his ace, he made birdies on the 12th and 14th holes and then parred in.
Sam Burns reads his putt on the 12th green during the second round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind Aug. 11, 2023, in Memphis. (Ben Jared/PGA Tour via Getty Images)
Burns was ranked sixth on the tour in strokes gained and putting this season, but this week he fell to the 61st spot in that category.
Burns is hopeful his disappointing performance this week will be short-lived.
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“It’s one of those things where you just have a bad week on the greens, but hopefully it’s just this one week,” he said. “I do hope I can keep those hole-in-ones coming. I can make those, I guess.”
