Twice this season, he had the 54-hole lead and failed to convert. Six other times, he was atop the leaderboard at the end of a round, just never the round that mattered — Sunday.
“I always felt that you had to play perfect golf to win,” Burns said after a 3-under 68 for a three-shot victory on Sunday. “I always felt that you had to play your absolute best on a Sunday to win. And after those experiences I realized that it’s not the case. I was trying to do too much.”
Tied for the lead with six holes to play, Bradley hit 8-iron short and into the water for a double bogey on the par-3 13th hole, and Burns put him away with two big birdies and a celebration he had reason to feel was a long time coming.