Sam Burns saw the best chance of his career to win a major championship pass him by on Sunday, wilting under pressure to crash out of contention at The Open Championship.
The five-time PGA Tour winner, 27, entered the final round at Royal Troon in a tie for second place at three-under-par, but by the end of the day – which saw Xander Schauffele lift the iconic Claret Jug – Burns had slumped into a tie for 31st place at six-over-par.
His card of 80 was the joint-worst of the day on the west coast of Scotland, tied with Tom Hoge and Alex Cejka who also came up short against the test of Troon over the final 18 holes.
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Burns has emerged as one of the brightest up-and-coming players on the PGA Tour in recent years, with his career-best victory coming at the WCG Dell Matchplay last year. The Louisiana native also was a member of the United States Ryder Cup team in Rome.
But he has struggled for form in the majors, with just one top-10 to his name in 18 starts, and Sunday's performance was the latest miserable chapter at the biggest tournaments for the world No. 28.
Burns' expression said it all as he walked off 18, declining to speak to the TV or written press and hoping to make a quick exit. But as he headed towards the car that was waiting to take him away, he was approached by a volunteer who asked him to sign a ball.
Many players in Burns' position would have kept walking and ignored the request, but even though he was processing one of the lowest moments of his young career, he stopped and obliged with the volunteer's request.
There are plenty of positives for Burns to take from the tournament despite a disastrous final round. He was seven-over-par after the opening 11 holes of the tournament and appeared a surety to miss the cut, but he fought back admirably to be within a single shot of the lead after 54 holes.
Burns was not the only man who exited Royal Troon without speaking to the media. His close friend Scottie Scheffler also endured a deeply disappointing final round and he declined a request to speak to the written press as he got a head start on his journey home.
World No. 1 Scheffler started the day two shots behind overnight leader Billy Horschel at two-under par, and he played plenty of good golf as he set about winning his third major title.
But he was uncharacteristically error-strewn and his final round was defined by two of the clumsiest double bogeys. At the par-four ninth, he three-putted from just nine feet to fall away from the leading pack.
And at 18, Scheffler took a 2-iron off the tee and hit a duck hook, carrying the ball just 176 yards before it plunged into deep rough. He was forced to take a penalty drop after drawing an unplayable lie and would eventually get down for a double bogey six to finish at one-under-par, eight shots adrift of the victorious Schauffele.
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