Sam Burns isn't just on the Presidents Cup team — he's leading it off.
The LSU product was handed one of the most prominent assignments of the entire biennial event, paired alongside world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in the very first match of Thursday's opening four-ball session at Medinah Country Club. That's not a coincidence. That's a statement about where Burns stands in the American golf pecking order right now.
Burns and Scheffler — the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoff champion — will face South Korea's Im Sung-jae and Australia's Min Woo Lee in the opener of five four-ball matches that kick off the 16th Presidents Cup. The U.S. team could have deployed any combination of names to set the tone, and captain's choice landed on the man from Baton Rouge sharing the top billing.
The selection carries real weight. Burns arrived at Medinah as the US Open runner-up, a result that cemented his status as one of the most reliable American stars in the game. Pairing him with Scheffler — who enters the week as the sport's unquestioned No. 1 and a four-time major champion — signals that the U.S. side views the duo as its most formidable partnership in the alternate-shot and better-ball formats that define team match play.
For LSU fans watching from Baton Rouge, it's a full-circle moment. Burns went from Tiger country to the actual Tigers-era Presidents Cup venue — Medinah hosted the 2012 Ryder Cup, one of golf's most dramatic team events — as one of the marquee attractions. His opponent across the tee will be Im Sung-jae, one of the International team's most accomplished players, alongside the streaking Min Woo Lee.
No other LSU alumni are in the Presidents Cup field, leaving Burns to carry the purple and gold standard alone. But the opening tee time at a major team event, alongside the best player on the planet, is about as high-profile a stage as college golf pedigree can deliver.
How Burns and Scheffler perform in Thursday's opener could set the psychological tone for the entire U.S. side. Match play is volatile — one bad hole can flip momentum — but the American brain trust clearly believes this pairing is built to handle the pressure of going first. Burns has earned that trust, and Medinah is where he gets to prove it on the biggest team stage in non-Ryder Cup golf.
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