Louisiana native Sam Burns picked up his inaugural PGA TOUR victory at this week’s Valspar Championship, becoming the second-youngest winner in tournament history, at age 24.
The win catapults Burns from 37th to 24th in the U.S. Team ranking, and places him amid an ever-growing cadre of young players looking to secure Ryder Cup rookie status at this year’s event: Collin Morikawa (24), Scottie Scheffler (24), Will Zalatoris (24) and Matthew Wolff (22) all hold spots in the rankings Top 20.
And while Burns held the 36- and 54-hole leads, the LSU alum’s victory was anything but assured, after a back-and-forth battle throughout the front nine left him tied with two-time U.S. Ryder Cup team member Keegan Bradley. Burns eventually regained sole possession of the lead on the 13th hole, before pulling away for a three-shot victory and his fifth Top-10 finish of the 2020-2021 season.
For Bradley, the second-place showing marked his highest PGA TOUR finish since the Travelers Championship in 2019, and vaulted him up 16 spots in the ranking, from 46 to 30. Ryan Palmer was the only movement within the Top 20, moving up one spot from 19 to 18.
| Rank | Name (Previous Rank) |
| 1 | Dustin Johnson (1) |
| 2 | Bryson DeChambeau (2) |
| 3 | Justin Thomas (3) |
| 4 | Collin Morikawa (4) |
| 5 | Xander Schauffele (5) |
| 6 | Brooks Koepka (6) |
| 7 | Patrick Reed (7) |
| 8 | Tony Finau (8) |
| 9 | Webb Simpson (9) |
| 10 | Daniel Berger (10) |
| 11 | Jordan Spieth (11) |
| 12 | Billy Horschel (12) |
For a full list of the Top 100 in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings, click here. The points system for this year's American team will include the top six point earners securing spots and the remaining six will be selected by Captain Stricker following the 2021 TOUR Championship.
