Sam Burns is expected to miss the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale next month because he and his wife, Caroline, are preparing for the birth of their second child. Burns’ mother, Beth, told The Athletic after Sunday’s U.S. Open final round that the 29-year-old would not be travelling to England.
“He won’t go to Europe. They’re going to go home and have a baby.”
Beth Burns said
The baby is due in mid-July, which lines up almost exactly with Open week at Royal Birkdale, scheduled for July 16–19. Caroline Burns was 37 weeks pregnant when the family left Shinnecock Hills on Sunday evening.
A Form Player Steps Away
Burns’ likely absence removes one of the summer’s in-form major contenders from the Royal Birkdale field. He finished runner-up at Shinnecock Hills after firing a final-round 67, the second-lowest score of the day, and briefly looked capable of forcing a playoff before missing birdie chances at the 17th and 18th holes. The result was the best major finish of his career across 25 championship appearances, following a tied-seventh showing at the Masters in April.
Burns has played the last five Open Championships. His best finish came at Royal Troon in 2024, where he tied for 31st. The Open’s exemptions page, updated as of June 21, still listed him as qualified under two separate exemption categories.
“Family Is a Lot More Important Than Golf”
After his round at Shinnecock Hills, Burns spoke about the balancing act between the biggest week of his competitive career and a growing family at home.
“I just wanted to hang out with him,” Burns said of his young son. “I’ve been gone all day, basically every day this week. They’re actually going back home tonight. My wife’s 37 weeks now, so they’re going to go back home. I know I’m not going to get to see him for a week, which will be terrible. So I just tried to get a few more extra minutes in.”
Burns, a five-time PGA Tour winner from Shreveport, Louisiana, earned $2.43 million for his runner-up finish on Sunday. Asked about juggling tour life with fatherhood, Burns said family came first.
“Family is a lot more important than golf,”
No formal withdrawal has been announced by Burns or the R&A. The Open field is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks.
Hero image: USGA/Chris Keane
Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.