A PGA Tour contender snaps a driver in anger in the middle of the round, playing one out

On the surface, things seemed to be going well for Sam Burns on Saturday at FedEx St. Jude Championship. Until press time the club exploded with a driver, forcing him to play the last nine holes except for one.

And to make matters worse, Burns was far from breaking up in the middle of the course. In fact, he was in contention to win.

Starting the first day with the lead, Burns was in good shape by paring his first eight holes in the third round. He had two bogeys at the time, but also had four birdies. A strong performance improved his overall score to 12 under, putting him in close pursuit of leader Hideki Matsuyama.

But things are not always as they seem. Poor driving ultimately accounted for Burns’ bogeys at the 1st and 7th, and another lopsided tee shot led to a disappointing par at the par-5 3rd (Matsuyama made eagle at 3).

So when Burns sent his drive on the 9th screaming into a tree on the left side of the fairway, frustration got the better of him. When he saw another ball headed for trouble, he whipped his driver down the trail.

To make matters worse, the club snapped as it hit the tee box, sending the clubhead and shaft flying in different directions. You can see the awkward moment below.

Burns was forced to putt his ball out of the trees at the second, successfully hitting the fairway. But his fortunes have not improved since then. He failed to reach the green with his third shot, ending up with a devastating double-bogey 6.

The lopsided number dropped Burns to 10 under, four shots behind Matsuyama’s lead. Although Burns was still in third place at the time, he still didn’t have a nine-hole driver to play in the third round.

Kevin Cunningham

Golf.com Editor

As executive producer of GOLF.com, Cunningham edits, writes and publishes stories on GOLF.com, and manages the brand’s e-newsletter, which reaches more than 1.4 million subscribers each month. A two-time alumni, he also helps keep GOLF.com buzzing with breaking news and service content provided by our reporters and writers, and works with the technology team to develop new products and new ways to deliver engagement. site to our audience.