Sam Burns is living in the now and the future

It is hard to keep Augusta out of mind.

The PGA Tour has made it to the Texas swing following all sorts of fun in Florida. Cameron Young won the most coveted title at the Players Championship, but all sorts of players made strides as the first major championship of the year approaches.

The first major championship. That’s a small way of saying the Masters. No big deal.

Sam Burns is living in the now and the present

All events on the PGA Tour season matter. When it comes time for Tour Championship time its players look back at every event as their full and total resume.

But it can be difficult to focus on the moment when one of a Masters ilk lurks around the corner. It is human nature to let your eyes wander to the greatest tournament that golf has to offer, but you have to take care of business that is in front of you first.

This juxtaposition fascinates me and I was curious how one of the best golfers in the world handles it. Sam Burns held a meet and greet at Raising Cane’s in Houston ahead of this week’s Texas Children’s Open, he even hopped behind the counter to take some orders, and I was able to ask him for his thoughts on the subject.

It should come as no surprise that Sam tries to balance the present and the future. This is the proper way to handle things, after all. Tunnel vision is necessary on the PGA Tour and if you don’t have it then you are going to struggle.

“I’m excited for this season. We always have a great turnout with fans and I’m looking forward to being back and getting out there this year,” said Burns. “It’s been an up and down season, but I feel like my game is trending in the right direction.” As part of his preparation week, Burns emphasized the importance of getting comfortable on the course and settling into a rhythm ahead of competition. “In terms of preparation for these tournaments, we usually get here early in the week, learn the course and make sure everything is ready for Thursday,” said Burns. “I went out and played the course earlier and it’s in great shape. I’m excited to get out there.”  

All golfers, even amateurs, know how unforgiving the game can be. If you start trying to think or do too much, it will bite you and in a pretty unforgiving sort of way.

In the spirit of generosity to counteract golf’s bitter nature I wanted to know where this idea can be most effectively combatted. We have all been on the course and thought to ourselves… “if I could just do this.“

What is that “this”, though? What is your this? What is Sam Burns’?

It was fascinating how Sam Burns would guarantee that his off-the-course happenings are proper if he could wave a magic wand over any single thing. Being in the right state of mind provides such a value for life beyond golf so this certainly makes senses as a logical answer.

For what it’s worth Sam seems to be in that type of center these days. He finished T13 at the Players and inside of the top 10 (T6) earlier this season at Pebble Beach.

Perhaps off-the-course routines are working then. I would imagine that there is a lot of Raising Cane’s involved for him (there is at least for me). The company does such a great job connecting major sports moments to its restaurants, similar to how Sam is connecting off-the-course peace to what happens inside of the ropes.

We will all be watching this week. And in Augusta.