Sam Burns shoots career-low 61 but can’t shake packed American Express leaderboard

LA QUINTA, Calif. — The letters shaved into Sam Burns’ hair show R-T-R for Roll Tide Roll. It’s part of a lost football bet after fellow PGA Tour member Justin Thomas’ Alabama Crimson Tide beat Burns’ LSU Tigers.

Burns may have found some inspiration in the lost bet, at least the roll part. The 27-year-old was on a major roll Friday at the American Express, firing a career-low 11-under 61 that flirted with the mythical number of 59 before pars on his final two holes.

“Based off the scores, obviously everybody’s shooting some good numbers, so I think just trying to keep pace and trying to hit as many quality shots and get as many looks as possible,” said Burns, whose 36-hole total of 17-under 127 was good only for a one-shot lead over Michael Kim on another calm and warm day.

The other story of the day was 20-year-old amateur Nick Dunlap, the current U.S. Amateur champion and a sophomore at the University of Alabama. With a 65 on the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West, Dunlap moved into a tie for third at 15 under with K.H. Lee, who shot 64 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course.

American Express: Saturday tee times | Photos

Dunlap is trying to become the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson won the 1991 Tucson Open. Only seven amateurs have won on the PGA Tour since 1945.

“I’ve always said pressure’s a privilege,” Dunlap said, who admitted to nerves during the week. “I got a great opportunity to be here, and to feel what I felt on 16, 17, 18, I’m sure it’s, well,  hopefully, if I keep playing well, it’s only going to magnify.”

Burns’ 61 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West set a record for lowest second round in the tournament and matched the course record set just last year in the third round by Dylan Wu.

Kim also played the Nicklaus Tournament Course, one of three courses in the tournament rotation, and fired a 63 for his 16-under total.

Scoring continued to be torrid Friday, with six players tied for fifth at 14 under. Seven of the top 10 scores after 36 holes were from golfers who played La Quinta Country Club in the first round and the Nicklaus Tournament Course in the second round. Those golfers will rotate to the Pete Dye Stadium Course at PGA West for Saturday’s third round.

Among the six golfers at 14 under are Patrick Cantlay (second-round 66), 2021 American Express champion Si Woo Kim (66) and 2023 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Eric Cole, who shot 64 at La Quinta Country Club. Alex Noren, an overnight leader after a 62 on Thursday, shot 68 for a share of fifth, while Adam Hadwin shot 65 on the Stadium Course and Christiaan Bezuidenhout shot 67 on the Nicklaus Course.

Burns’ round started without a hint of a charge at a 59 with pars on his first three holes. That changed on the par-5 fourth hole.

“On 4 I hit a really good tee shot in there, had 5-iron in,” Burn said. “I hit it to probably 15 feet or so, was able to make it.”

The eagle jumpstarted the round, with Burns then making three birdies on his next three holes on the way to a front-nine 31. Another eagle on the par-5 11th, this time with just a three-foot putt, kept the round going. Another stretch of four consecutive birdies starting at the 13th took him to 11 under for the day with two holes to play, but routine pars at the par-3 17th and par-4 18th capped the 61.

The 61 was hardly a fluke, said Burns, a five-time PGA Tour winner and member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team last year.

“I was able to come out here early and get some work in with my coach, just because the weather at home’s been pretty bad,” Burns said. “We got some good work in the past few days, and game’s feeling solid.”

Like many golfers in the American Express who grew up in Southern California, Kim has fond memories of playing the desert courses as a junior golfer.

“I grew up in San Diego, so all these West Coast tournaments, and especially these courses, I played a lot of junior golf tournaments here,” Kim said. “I even remember some of the shots I hit into them 10, 15 years ago. So it’s fun to kind of go back into the memory bank and just remember some of the more stress-free times, I guess.”

Kim, whose only win on the PGA Tour came in the 2018 John Deere Classic, fired 10 birdies Friday and a single bogey on the par-4 ninth hole at the Nicklaus Course.

“I’ve been really rolling it really nice since Sony, and I worked on a couple things with my coach, Sean Foley, leading up to the week,” Kim said. “And I know the adjustments I have to make and, hopefully, I can roll a few more birdies tomorrow.”

Lee’s 64 Friday was nearly identical to Kim’s 63, only with just nine birdies and the single bogey, again on the ninth hole.

Dunlap birdied six holes on the front nine at the Stadium Course but had eight straight pars on the back nine until hitting an iron from the dormant Bermuda rough to four feet on the par-4 18th hole for a closing birdie. It’s all part of a learning process for Dunlap, he said.

Nick Dunlap lines up a putt on the ninth hole during the second round of The American Express golf tournament at PGA West Dye Stadium Course. Mandatory Credit: Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports

“I’m still trying to learn as much as I can, and how some of these golf courses are different from college, but they’re still similar. Playing in front of the crowds, and, no, I’ve enjoyed it,” he said. “I’m going to stick to what I’ve been doing, and that’s just give myself as many birdie chances as possible.”

Dunlap and Hadwin may have the best rotation of the golfers in the top 10 as they move to La Quinta Country Club for their third round. Cole moves to the Nicklaus Tournament Course, with Burns and the rest of the top 10 heading to the Stadium Course. That course was once the beast of the tournament, but in recent years has yielded low scores like the other layouts.

“I played well around there in the past, so, hopefully, try to kind of build on that, and go out there and just hit as many quality shots as possible, see if we can make some putts,” Burns said.