Sam Burns enjoyed a sparkling 2021, a year in which he transformed himself from a nearly man into a two-time winner on the PGA Tour.
The career progress of Sam Burns is a testament to the notion that if you knock on enough doors one will eventually open.
Which is not to sat that the Louisiana State University grad took an age to breakthrough at the top level, but he did have several near-misses in a short space of time before he finally captured his first PGA Tour title.
That triumph arrived at the Valspar Championship in May 2021 and by the end of the campaign he had performed well enough to qualify for a first start at the Tour Championship.
He then opened the 2021/22 season with victory at the Fortinet Championship, the first of four top 20s before the Christmas break.
As if to reiterate that he was now very comfortable at the highest level he marked his debut at the end-of-season Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event with an invited elite field, with a tilt at the title before finishing tied third.
In March 2022 he successfully defended his Valspar Championship title and added the Charles Schwab Challenge in May, making it four wins in 13 months.