Sam Burns read US Open fate. His father's words brought tears to his eyes

SOUTHAMPTON, NY – Sam Burns' fate can wait. Because Bear Burns could not.

Can dad play football?

Years ago, Sam had asked his dad for that, and on Sunday, Sam got it, moments after he drilled the defensive end of the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in a way that included Jalen Brunson, who had just won an NBA title for the local Knicks, and his blue and orange No. 11 jersey was visible to the entire crowd. After starting his final round of the US Open seven strokes off the lead, Burns finished 72 holes at one under, with the leader, Wyndham Clark, on the 16th hole. After 6 p.m., Burns walked about 100 yards from the clubhouse to the player support building and began watching the NBC broadcast.

At 6:23, he came back out. Bear, his 2-year-old son, had found one of the white rubber balls that kids use for autographs, and, on Father's Day, father and son played with it while sitting in a golf cart.

“I think it's a crazy life we ​​live sometimes,” Sam said later.

“The bear is 2 years old now, and we are emerging [to a tournament]and he will say, 'Is this the new house of Bhova?' We'll say, 'Sure, it's your new house for the week.' We get a courtesy car; you'll say, 'A new bear car?' We'll say, 'Yeah, all week.' We'll have more to explain at some point.

“Yeah, I think, you know, as a competitor, you want to go out and compete as hard as you can and try to win, but at the end of the day, when you're out on the golf course, it's really not that important, and family is more important than golf.”

Clark birdied 16. He was two over. Father and son came back to watch, the Bear running in front of him.

Clark bogeyed 17. He was on top. On 18, Clark hit his tee shot a few feet into the fairway. At 6:34, Burns came out and walked to close range. To its left was a large color monitor showing what was happening.

Todd Burns was there, rolling through Shinnecock this week on a scooter after tearing his left meniscus, and he had been there for his son's golf debut. The Burnses, Sam said, have always been a football family — Todd and another son, Chase, both played in college — but they're also golf nuts. “I used to go out there and run and fight with them,” said Sam. “Especially I started using the golf club as a weapon to attack my 8 year old brother, I had to defend myself with something.

“Yeah, that's how I got into it.”

At 6:38, Burns stopped his shot, and Clark scored his second at 18. Did anyone see this coming? The previous 54-hole US Open deficit was seven, in 1960. But Burns birdied 1. Then 3. He repeated 5. Then 8, which tied him for the lead. On 18, he had a 17-foot birdie putt that would have tied Clark again, but it went over the right side of the hole, and Burns fell to his knees. “To have a chance on 18,” he said, “I thought I made that putt. I hit it the way I wanted with the speed I wanted and I didn't get in.”

Clark's second shot landed 52 feet from the hole. The fire continued to strike.

At 6:44, Clark hit his putt to 9 inches. Burns looked no further. He put the iron back in his bag and took off his golf glove.

He went straight to his father who was standing. They clapped, Todd put his arm around his son's shoulder. He whispered a sentence to her.

“Yeah, he just said he's really proud,” Burns said.

He started crying.

“Sorry.”

He continued.

“I just say you're proud, and I think—I think we both knew how special it was going to be on Father's Day, but I know you're proud.”

Last year at the US Open at Oakmont Country Club, Burns had shot 54 holes, but stumbled Sunday with a 78. That, he said, was a loss. It wasn't like that. On Sunday, only two players shot better than his 67. “I think I did my best, and I did everything I could to have a chance to win today,” Burns said. “Like I said, I started the day shooting seven rebounds. That's very hard to overcome, especially someone as good as Wyndham was playing. That was really the difference today.”

Burns went to interviews, then quit.

He hugged his wife, Caroline, who said she was 37 weeks pregnant.

And Bear.

“I think that's one of the reasons why we work as hard and practice as hard as we do, so that we have a chance to win golf tournaments,” said Burns. “It's not often that we have the opportunity to win majors on Father's Day.

“I think the weight of that and knowing what that memory would have been like, it would have been really special.”