Sam Burns arrived at Royal Birkdale this week unsure whether he would even tee it up. His daughter was born days before the tournament began. Now he is 18 holes from the Claret Jug, and the numbers he has put on the board are unlike anything major championship golf has seen.
Burns enters Sunday’s final round at 10-under par, two shots clear of Ryan Fox and Si Woo Kim. His second-round 62 and third-round 65 — a combined 127 across Friday and Saturday — constitute the lowest consecutive 36-hole score in major championship history, breaking a record that had stood across the sport’s four biggest stages.
The 62 Burns posted on Friday was one of three carded this week, tying the men’s major championship low round. Fox matched it Saturday, the third such score of the tournament, joining Burns in the final pairing at 9:20 a.m. ET.
The leaderboard behind them is crowded. Ryan Gerard and Lucas Herbert sit at 7-under, three back. Ludvig Åberg, Bryson DeChambeau, and Jackson Suber are tied at 6-under, four shots off the pace. DeChambeau, who endured what Yahoo Sports described as a “chaotic Friday,” remains within striking distance — though converting a four-shot deficit on a links course yielding record scores requires a very specific kind of Sunday charge.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is six back at 4-under, teeing off at 7:45 a.m. alongside Jose Luis Ballester Barrio. CBS Sports noted that Rory McIlroy is well off the pace and Matt Fitzpatrick missed the cut entirely, thinning the field of marquee contenders. Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, and Xander Schauffele remain on the course but would need career-low Sunday rounds to factor.
The 2026 Open marks the championship’s return to Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, for the first time in nine years. The R&A has increased the purse to $17.5 million, with the winner’s share to be determined by the final standings.
What stands out beyond Burns’ lead is the scoring environment. Three rounds of 62 in a single major — tying the all-time low — suggests Royal Birkdale’s links layout is surrendering red numbers at a rate that keeps the entire field in play. A two-shot cushion is comfortable, not insurmountable. The data says Burns has been the best player through 54 holes by a significant margin. The data also says someone behind him is statistically capable of a 62 on any given day.
Burns, 28, has won five times on the PGA Tour but never a major. His previous best finish in a major was a tie for sixth at the 2022 PGA Championship. A victory Sunday would make him the first American to win the Open at Royal Birkdale since Mark O’Meara in 1998.
Final-round coverage begins at 4 a.m. ET on USA Network and continues at 7 a.m. on NBC and Peacock, running through 2 p.m. Streaming is available throughout on Peacock, with Round 4 tee times starting at 2:20 a.m. ET.
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