Sam Burns Clinches 5th Straight Team USA Spot on Presidents Cup Roster

Q: Despite a multi-year winless drought, how did Sam Burns secure a top automatic spot for the 2026 Presidents Cup?

Sam Burns earned an automatic 2026 U.S. Presidents Cup spot by piling up enough FedExCup points through sustained high finishes, not by winning. The top six Americans in the Presidents Cup standings after the BMW Championship qualified automatically, and Burns finished No. 4. The qualifying window ran from the start of the 2025 PGA Tour season through the 2026 BMW Championship, so steady elite results mattered more than ending his winless stretch. Burns stayed near the top of the standings with one of the strongest major-season resumes among U.S. players. He was runner-up at the U.S. Open, finished third at The Open after holding the 54-hole lead at Royal Birkdale, and added another top-five at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Reports also noted a run of six straight top-20 finishes heading into the BMW Championship, including multiple top-four results. Even though he tied for 28th at the BMW, that was enough to keep him safely inside the automatic-qualifier line as other players around the bubble shifted. Wyndham Clark’s win moved Clark into the top six, but Burns did not fall out, while players such as Ben Griffin did. His recent team-play track record also reinforced why he had put himself in position. Burns has become one of the more dependable U.S. players in international competition, with a 3-3-3 Presidents Cup record and five straight selections across the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 24

Sam Burns locked up an automatic U.S. Presidents Cup berth Sunday, sending the 30-year-old to his third Presidents Cup and fifth straight Team USA appearance across the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup.
Recent results secured the spot: Burns finished second at the U.S. Open, third at The Open and posted his fourth top-five finish of the 2026 season at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Medinah next month will carry a new personal dimension, with Burns saying his 2-year-old son Bear will be around the team after Burns and his wife welcomed a daughter, Belle, on July 3.
Burns, a five-time PGA Tour winner still chasing his first major, said team events stand out because representing the United States lets him play for something bigger than himself.