The 2021 Hero World Challenge will forever belong to Viktor Hovland. But the tournament’s most unforgettable moment belonged to Sam Burns and a 3-wood that refused to cooperate.

Burns charged into Sunday’s final round tied for the lead. Two victories already that season, the Valspar Championship and Sanderson Farms Championship, had vaulted him to 13th in the world. A Bahamas triumph would crown a breakout year. Then came the 14th hole. And a tip from Webb Simpson that Burns had tucked away for exactly this moment.

“I was sitting on the back of the range one day with Webb, and it’s like there’s a lot of like big falloffs, like nasty just the grainiest Bermuda ever,” Burns recalled on the Bryan Bros Golf YouTube channel. “He’s like, ‘You ever tried a 3-wood around here? Like bumping it through this stuff?’ I’m like, ‘No.’ He’s like, ‘You should try. It’s really good.'”

Burns tested the shot. It worked. He filed it away for future use. Future use arrived on Sunday — tied for the lead, trophy in sight, ball nestled in Albany’s grainy runoff after a textbook drive on the driveable par-4.

“So I take 3-wood, bump it, hops, comes back to me,” Burns said. “Take 3-wood again, bump it, hops, come back to my feet again.”

The ball returned to his feet like a boomerang with a grudge. Twice. Simpson watched the disaster unspool from the scoring area, powerless to intervene. His clever practice-range trick had transformed into a Sunday horror show.

“Webb said he’s just like, ‘Oh my gosh, I cost you a tournament. This can’t be happening,'” Burns recounted.

Burns finally abandoned the 3-wood. Too late. Triple bogey — a seven on a hole built for threes.

Hovland, meanwhile, stormed from six shots back with a blistering final-round 66. Back-to-back eagles on 14 and 15 propelled him to 18-under and the $1,000,000 winner’s check from the $3,500,000 purse. Burns settled for T3 at 15-under alongside Patrick Reed, collecting $187,500, a reminder of what slipped away on that Bermuda slope.

Top Stories

LIV Golf CEO Breaks Silence as Brooks Koepka Exits Before Contract Expiry

Prayers Pour In as Japanese Golf Legend Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki Dies at 78

PGA Tour Pros React Strongly as Brooks Koepka Breaks $100M LIV Golf Contract: ‘I Vote..’

PGA Tour Drops Cryptic Brooks Koepka Statement as He Exits LIV Golf After 3 Years

Brad Dalke Breaks Down Heated Scottie Scheffler Rivalry After Career Resurgence

Sam Burns and Albany’s driveable par-4 trap

Risk-reward holes operate on a cruel bargain. They whisper promises of easy birdies while concealing the carnage lurking in the margins. Albany’s 14th embodies this contract — a kidney-shaped green with severe Bermuda runoff that punishes anything less than precision.

Burns executed the drive flawlessly. His position looked ideal for a routine chip. The moment he reached for that 3-wood, the hole’s jaws snapped shut.

Simpson knew short-game precision better than most. Despite ranking in the bottom half of the PGA Tour in driving distance, he’d built an entire career on approach play and touch around the greens, skills sharp enough to catch Tiger Woods’ eye for Presidents Cup consideration.

The advice wasn’t wrong. The context was catastrophic. Burns salvaged what he could. Eagle on 15. Birdie at the last. A final-round 65 despite the wreckage. He finished tied for third at 15-under, three shots behind Hovland’s coronation, pocketing $187,500 instead of the million-dollar winner’s check.

The next time he crossed paths with Simpson, the punchline wrote itself.

“I was like, ‘Good play, huh? It’s a good play, isn’t it?'” Burns said. “He’s like, ‘Buddy, I watched it, and I felt so bad.'”

Some shots belong on the practice range. And some should never leave.