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JACKSON, Miss. — Sam Burns ran off four birdies in a six-hole stretch to start the back nine and pulled away for a 5-under 67 to win the Sanderson Farms Championship on Sunday for his second PGA TOUR victory this year. RELATED: Leaderboard | Winner’s Bag: Sam Burns, Sanderson Farms Championship Against a list of contenders looking for their first win, Burns showed what it takes at the Country Club of Jackson by playing flawlessly on the back nine until it didn’t matter. He seized control with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 13th, a 5-iron to 15 feet that set up a two-putt birdie on the next hole and then a perfect pitch from behind the green on the reachable par-4 15th for a tap-in birdie. Staked to a two-shot lead going down the 18th, he took a safe bogey from the greenside bunker to secure a one-shot win over resurgent Nick Watney and PGA TOUR rookie Cameron Young. Watney, coming off his worst season in more than a decade, closed with a 65 and had his best finish in more than three years. Young’s hopes began to fade on the 14th with a clunker out of the rough into a fairway bunker that led to him having to make a 4-footer for bogey. Still, he made a slick up-and-down from off the 18th green for par that gave him a 68 and a share of second, which sets him up well for the season. That starts with playing next week in Las Vegas instead of having to go through Monday qualifying. “I love being in contention, I love feeling the nerves, so it was fun today. I enjoyed it, even though it might not have looked like it,” Young said. “I knew Sam was ahead of me and I had to make a couple and just didn’t, but I will another time.” Sahith Theegala, the California rookie who began the final round with a one-shot lead, had control of the final round until he reached the back nine. He failed to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker on the par-3 10th, missing a 7-foot putt. With a 7-iron in his hand for his second to the par-5 11th, he leaked the shot to the right and into the water, and missed a 4-foot putt to take bogey. Two holes later, he three-putted from 18 feet for bogey. From there, it was about limiting the damage. He played the final five holes in 1 under for a 71. Theegala tied for eighth, which gets him into the field next week in Las Vegas. For Burns, the 25-year-old from Louisiana is just starting to cash in. He won the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook in the spring and has had more chances than that throughout the year, losing a playoff in Memphis in August and coming up one shot away from a playoff at Riviera in February. Burns did well enough to earn some serious consideration from Steve Stricker as a captain’s pick for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. And now with his second win of the year — in his first start of the new season — Burns moves into the top 20 in the world ranking for the first time. He ended a trend in which six of the last seven winners of the Sanderson Farms Championship captured their first PGA TOUR title. Burns was among the few who had winning experience. Six players in contention at the start of the final round had recently earned PGA TOUR cards through the Korn Ferry Tour. Among the exceptions was Watney, first slowed by a lower back injury and then by a loss in confidence. He went back to working with Butch Harmon in the summer, and then put together a superb week with his putter, leading the field in the key putting statistic. “There was definitely some lean times, especially last year, but I’m not trying to think about that any more,” Watney said. “I’m trying to continue to get better and this was a great step this week. I’m ready.”

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RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – After a one-year hiatus, the Puerto Rico Open is back on the PGA TOUR. After Hurricane Maria caused catastrophic damage to the island in 2017, tournament organizers decided to host a Pro-Am in 2018 that ended up raising more than $500,000 for relief efforts. The Pro-Am featured past PGA TOUR winners and stars of the LPGA Tour and Web.com Tour, but this year the tournament is back, and so is the island. It’s recovered well from one of the worst natural disasters on record and the Puerto Rican people are eager to welcome the world’s best once again.  D.A. Points captured the last Puerto Rico Open in 2017. At 20 under par, he won by two shots over Bryson DeChambeau, Retief Goosen and Bill Lunde. WEATHER CHECK From DTN meteorologist Stewart Williams: “High pressure over the Western Atlantic will increase the easterly trade winds across the region making for windy conditions Thursday and Friday. This will also produce some passing showers at times, especially on Friday. Drier conditions should return this weekend decreasing the chance for showers. Another band of moisture will return on Monday bringing showers once again.” SOUND CHECK It’s huge for tourism. It’s huge for the economy. It’s huge for everybody just here on the island to be able to promote the island as well as we can, and it’s great to be back and have the Puerto Rico Open once again. BY THE NUMBERS 39 – The position of Corey Conners in the FedExCup standings, the highest-ranked golfer in the field. 4 – The number of Puerto Ricans playing this week, led by Campos. 600 – Yards in the par-5 16th hole, the longest on the course. -16 – The average winning score of the Puerto Rico Open through 10 years of competition. SCATTERSHOTS D.A. Defending: Although it’s been two years, D.A. Points still has a positive attitude defending this week in Puerto Rico. His win at the 2017 Puerto Rico Open was his third PGA TOUR triumph. Points finished 104th in the FedExCup standings that year but dropped to 176th in 2018. He’s made one cut this season (T71 at The RSM Classic) but said being back in Puerto Rico makes him feel rejuvenated. “It’s amazing, the feelings that you have right away,â€� said Points. “It definitely helps my attitude. I have to be careful to not be like a lot of defending champions and have too high expectations … But I know how to play this course.â€� Major Presence: While many are at the WGC-Mexico Championship this week, the Puerto Rico Open has its own share of major champions teeing it up as well. Seven past major winners are playing in Puerto Rico including Graeme McDowell, Angel Cabrera, Retief Goosen, Todd Hamilton, David Duval, Charl Schwartzel, and Trevor Immelman. Windy Conditions: The adage, ‘when it’s breezy, swing easy’ is going to be put to the test this week as weather forecasters are calling for winds blowing upwards of 25 mph through the first two rounds. Rafa Campos said patience would be the key to success this week, admitting it’s set to be windier than normal through Thursday and Friday. “Balls will move a bit more than normal. It’s going to be tougher to make some putts and all that, but staying patient and keeping the ball low is going to be key,â€� he said. “The course is fairly open so there’s not a lot of trouble off the tee, but it’s a matter of keeping the ball low, keeping it in front of you and keeping it in play.â€�

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The Monday qualifier for the RBC Canadian Open had a distinct local flavor with all four spots going to Canadian players – but not before some playoff excitement. Michael Gligic and Russell Budd, who grew up close to Glen Abbey, took medalist honors with solid 4-under 67s at Heron Point Golf Links. But Justin Yong Woo Kim and Mitchell Sutton had to come through a 5-for-2 spot playoff against American’s Tyler McCumber and Blake Austin and Korean Seung-su Han to book their place in Canada’s national Open. Kim birdied the first playoff hole to advance, Sutton made birdie on the second. “Wow, that was pretty exciting coming down the last few holes and into the playoff,� said Sutton, who won back-to-back Canadian Junior Boy Championships in 2008 and 2009. “I’m pretty pumped up right now and looking forward to playing in my first RBC Canadian Open. I’ve played Glen Abbey a couple of times, but not in a while. I’m excited to go back.� Gligic has been in nice form of late on the MacKenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada but even he must have been worried after falling 3 over through three holes. Seven birdies in his last 13 holes, including three in the last four holes, helped him surge into his third national Open. But this is his first one at Glen Abbey – the venue he dreamed of playing at as a youngster. “I’ve been looking forward to playing one there, so it’s nice to finally punch my ticket,� Gligic said. “I definitely feel the best I ever have going into a RBC Canadian Open. My nerves got to me in my first one and in the second one my game wasn’t that great. But now I feel like my game is in a really good spot, so hopefully I’ll play well.� Two of this season’s most successful qualifiers missed out on earning a spot. Chase Seiffert, who finished T9 at the Travelers Championship, missed the playoff by two shots, while T.J. Vogel was not at his best as he chased an eighth successful qualification this season. There will now be 21 Canadians in the field. Here’s a closer look at this week’s qualifiers: RUSSELL BUDD (67) Age: 26 Hometown: Toronto, Ontario Alma mater: DePaul University PGA TOUR starts: Debut Notes: He has made eight starts on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica in 2018, missing the cut in five with a best finish of T39. MICHAEL GLIGIC (67) Age: 28 Hometown: Burlington, Ontario  PGA TOUR starts: 2 Cuts made: 0 Best PGA TOUR finish: MC, 2012 & 2014 RBC Canadian Open’s. Notes: Grew up just 10 minutes from Glen Abbey. Two top-6 results on Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada in last three starts. Won the ATB Financial Classic Presented by TELUS on MacKenzie Tour in 2012. JUSTIN YONG WOO KIM (68) Hometown: Hamilton, Ontario PGA TOUR starts: Debut Notes: Has had handful of starts on Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada and also tried to find his way in the PGA TOUR China Series over the last five years with limited success. A former winner in Canada’s Golden Horseshoe Area Tour. MITCHELL SUTTON Hometown: London, Ontario PGA TOUR starts: Debut Notes: Played MacKenzie TOUR – PGATOUR Canada in 2015 and 2016 with limited success. Played one event this year on same tour for a missed cut. Previous winner of multiple Canadian junior titles. BARBASOL CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIERS T34. John Oda, 69-69-69-68 MC. Kevin Foley, 72-69 MC. Domenico Geminiani, 74-67 MC. Ryan Wenzler, 70-76 THIS SEASON’S QUALIFIERS Qualifiers: 83 Made cut: 26 Top-10s: 4 (Scott Strohmeyer, T4 at Sanderson Farms; Trey Mullinax, T8 at Valspar; Julian Suri, T8 at Houston; Chase Seiffert, T9 at Travelers) Top-25s: 6 Most times qualified: T.J. Vogel (7)

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