THE MODERATOR: Sam Burns, 1-under 69. Sam, leading the U.S. Open heading into the final round, what will be your mindset and what will you do until your round tomorrow?
SAM BURNS: Yeah, I think as if I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, but this golf course is difficult. It takes a lot of patience.
I think today I didn't drive the ball as well as I would have liked to. But when I got out of position I feel like I did a good job of getting myself back in the fairway, having a wedge or short iron in my hand and giving myself a chance for par. I was able to convert some of those and kind of kept the momentum going. So that was kind of key to the round today.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. There's been seven first time major winners at this very famous and historic course. I wonder what it would mean to you personally to continue that trend?
SAM BURNS: Yeah, it would be incredible. I think as a kid growing up, you dream about winning major championships and that's why we practice so hard and work so hard. All these guys in this field I think would agree that to have the opportunity to win a major is special. I'm definitely really excited for tomorrow.
Q. Just think of some of those names already of the seven, their places in history. How does that make you feel?
SAM BURNS: Yeah, it's incredible. I think there's a -- you know this place is special in itself and the history here and all the people that have been before me and walked these grounds and played here, it's really special.
Q. Has it been difficult over the last couple years to watch what Scottie has done and think, man, I would like to have some of those experiences as well at major championships and some of the bigger events?
SAM BURNS: Yeah, Scottie's obviously an incredible player. I don't think I need to say that (laughing). But I think we obviously spend a lot of time together and being able to talk to him and just kind of learn from him and ask him questions, it's been really cool.
As good of a player as he is, he's a better guy, and I think that's what makes it really special to watch, because you want to root for somebody like that. So he's an easy guy to root for. He happens to be also the best player in the world. But, yeah, it's been nice to kind of pick his brain and ask him certain things.
Q. Has there been any part of you, though, that's like, man, I would love to have that experience of contending for and winning an major, just being so close to him and seeing him do it?
SAM BURNS: Yeah, of course. I think as a competitor that's why we show up to play. We show up to play to win. Watching him do that and watching him have success, it brings me a lot of joy, and him and his wife Meredith and Bennett, they're just an unbelievable family, and it's been such a joy to watch how they steward that success to others around them, and just the amount of respect that we have for them is very high.
Q. I think a lot of guys in your situation who have chased majors for seven, eight years would try to change a whole bunch of things. You've kept things the same since you were a teenager, live in the same place, same coach, same agent, all these things. Why is consistency important to you as you continue to chase these trophies?
SAM BURNS: Yeah, I think my dad has always said you got to dance with who brought you. For me, my coach and I have been working together since I was 15 or 16, and to me it seems way more complicated to go seek advice from someone else who doesn't know me or know my golf swing. I fully trust him and what he thinks and what he says, and our relationship is much more than just a swing coach. So I think for me golf is complicated enough, it's difficult enough. For me I have always thought just trying to keep it simple and just figure out what works for me.
Q. Right at the end they flashed a stat on the screen that I think you and Ryan Fox are the only two guys that haven't had a three-putt yet, and I know you've always been a good putter, but is there something -- first, is there something about these greens that you dial into? Like do you feel in the zone? And second, being a good putter, do you like when it's a really hard putting place because it accentuates what you do well above the other players?
SAM BURNS: Well, I think the golf course I play at at home, Squire Creek, it's a Fazio design. It's big surfaces and lots of slope. So I think I'm kind of used to having a 15- or 20-footer that may break five or six feet. I like that kind of artistic ability to kind of see the break.
Putts that are really straight are more difficult for me because it's just hard to see kind of where it's breaking. I don't know if that helps me or hurts me on these greens. These greens are very challenging. I think it's not so much the raw speed of these greens; it's the adjusted speed with how much slope there is.
You can have some putts on like No. 1 for example, putting from the front of that green to the back is -- it must roll a 30, and putting from the back to the front it probably rolls a 6. It's just how much slope is in that green.
So I think that's the challenging part a lot of times here is you're trying to figure out, okay, this putt breaks seven feet right-to-left but the first half is putting back up the slope and then really once it starts turning it's picking up speed. So I think that's the really tough part about these greens.
Q. I think this is your second Father's Day tomorrow and I was just wondering how being a dad has maybe changed you personally or professionally?
SAM BURNS: Yeah, I mean, it's definitely life changing, for sure. I think our nights at home and days at home look a lot different now. We were joking with the Schefflers yesterday afternoon, we were out in the yard, and the boys, no clothes on, just playing in the little splash pad, having the time of their lives. We were like, What did we do before that? I mean, we're like, Well, we probably just sat around and watched shows and it was quiet. But it's so much fun. There's nothing better for me getting home after a long day and seeing Bear and Caroline and getting to hang out with them and just, I enjoy it so much, and to have a chance to win on Father's Day would be really cool.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports