At a course where the world’s best are being broken down one hole at a time, Sam Burns is playing the most liberating golf of his career. With a stunning second-round 65 at Oakmont Country Club, the 28-year-old Texan now finds himself at the top of the US Open leaderboard. He’s not trying to conquer the course—he’s learning to coexist with it.
Embracing the chaos
Sam Burns came into Friday’s round knowing just how unforgiving Oakmont can be. A brutal finish on Thursday—three bogeys and a double over his last five holes—might’ve haunted a lesser player. Instead, Burns chose to focus on the five birdies that came before the unraveling.
“I played really well yesterday other than the finishing holes,” he said Friday. “So, I think today was just kind of getting mentally ready to come out and try to put a good round together.” That mindset delivered what may go down as one of the finest rounds of his life: a 5-under-par 65 on a course that has chewed up and spit out some of the best in the world. It vaulted Burns to 3-under for the tournament—leading the US Open at the halfway mark, with just two other players under par.
Not only was his 65 the best round of the tournament so far, it was just two strokes shy of Johnny Miller’s legendary 63 at Oakmont in the 1973 US Open. For Burns, who has five PGA Tour wins but only one top-10 in a major (a T9 at Pinehurst last year), it was a breakthrough performance at exactly the right moment.
Letting go of perfection
Burns’ path to the top of the leaderboard has little to do with overpowering the course. At Oakmont, that’s impossible. Instead, he’s leaning into a philosophy of freedom and acceptance—a rare approach in a major, especially one as brutal as the US Open.
“You really just have to free it up,” he said. “It’s too hard to try to guide it around here. You’re going to hit some in the rough, you’re going to hit some in bad spots, you might as well do it with authority.” That’s a sharp contrast to what happened last week at the RBC Canadian Open, where Burns missed a five-foot putt to win on the first playoff hole, then three-putted on the second. It was a painful loss, but if he’s carrying any scars into Oakmont, he’s hiding them well.
Burns has made peace with the chaos. He said he’s not setting target scores or obsessing over missed putts. “I just feel like I’ve tried to play too perfectly and tried to force it a little bit at times,” he said. “So I’m trying to really be patient and take what the golf course gives me.”
Flying under the radar—until now
Even as Burns surged up the leaderboard on Friday, the crowd at Oakmont barely seemed to notice. The largest galleries were reserved for names like Scottie Scheffler, his friend and world No. 1. But that anonymity may be disappearing.
“He plays golf very freely,” Scheffler said of Burns. “He’s got really good natural instincts when it comes to his putting… It’s very reactionary. That’s really all there is to it—it’s as simple as that.” That calm, instinctive style has proven to be a potent weapon on a course that punishes overthinking. Burns has kept his head while others—big names like Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, and Shane Lowry—have spiraled into double bogeys and missed cuts.
Burns, meanwhile, has stayed in rhythm. His wedge play has been sharp, his putting trustworthy, and above all, his mind clear. The result: a scorecard mostly free of stress, and a real shot at his first major championship.
Lessons in patience
Oakmont is not the kind of course you attack. It’s the kind you endure. And Burns isn’t alone in discovering that patience is the most valuable club in the bag this week. On Friday, South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence opened with three birdies in four holes and surged into a temporary three-shot lead. But confidence turned to aggression, and Oakmont bit back—six bogeys, a double, and a suspended round later, Lawrence’s leaderboard moment had vanished.
“Oakmont rewards discipline, not daring,” one commentator noted. It’s a sentiment Burns clearly understands. Instead of chasing hero shots, he’s leaning on his short game, grinding out pars when things go sideways. “Look, this golf course is very tough and you’re going to get the ball out of position and you’re going to get in some spots that are tricky,” Burns said. “Being able to rely on your short game and give yourself a chance at par is really important.”
A quiet contender finds his voice
Burns isn’t a household name—yet. But his record is growing more impressive by the season, and his demeanor suggests he’s ready for the spotlight, even if he isn’t chasing it. Asked about holding the lead heading into the weekend, he responded with the same steady poise that’s defined his tournament so far: “It’s a 72-hole golf tournament, and if you can get a round under par out here, no matter if it’s 1-under, you’ll take it.”
That kind of mindset may be what separates the winners from the also-rans come Sunday. History backs him up—11 of the last 12 US Open champions were inside the top five after two rounds. Scheffler, a close friend who knows a thing or two about winning on the biggest stages, said Burns has the fire to finish what he started.
“Sam is one of those guys, he’s like me in a sense that he’s a hyper-competitive person,” Scheffler said. “You always dream of having a chance to win these tournaments, and he’s put himself in position a few times at majors. Now he’s in position again.”
The question now: Can he stay there?
The pressure only intensifies from here. Oakmont is likely to get firmer, faster, and meaner over the weekend. The leaderboard remains tightly packed, and challengers are lurking. But if Burns continues to play freely—and wisely—he may just turn this breakthrough performance into the defining moment of his career. For now, he’s keeping it simple. “I’m looking forward to the weekend,” he said with a smile. And so is the rest of the golf world.
