Ryan Fox Takes Down Sam Burns In A Pillow Fight, Joaquin Niemann's Magical Year, And Early U.S. Open Musings

Ryan Fox has won two PGA Tour events in less than a month after getting the best of Sam Burns at the Canadian Open in a four-hole playoff that neither player seemed like they wanted to win. Not that anyone is counting, but the 38-year-old Kiwi has two more wins in the last four weeks than Jordan Spieth has in the last three years and counting. What a sport golf is.

Up in Virginia, Joaquin Niemann stormed back to win his fourth LIV Golf title of 2025. Seeing as how the Saudi-backed circuit has only played eight events all year, winning at a 50-percent clip seems pretty good. More on this below, but anyone still slandering Niemann nowadays is an unserious person.

We also need to discuss the golf tournament being hosted in Pennsylvania this week, called the U.S. Open. Time needs to slow down as it feels impossible that the year's third major championship is already upon us, but nevertheless, U.S. Open week is always a magical one, and Oakmont will assuredly deliver the goods this weekend.

Let's tuck into a fresh edition of Par Talk. As always, feel free to hit my inbox with any thoughts, concerns, or suggestions at mark.harris@outkick.com. You can also find me on X, the everything app formerly known as Twitter, at @itismarkharris. 

Early Expectations For The U.S. Open At Oakmont

Yes, golf was played this past week, tournaments were won, and large paychecks were handed out, but it's a major championship week, so it's only right we begin the week by talking about said major.

We need to get the important stuff out of the way and voice the (correct) opinion that the U.S. Open is the third-best major on the calendar behind the Masters and The Open. Give me Augusta National and early morning golf across the pond before the U.S. Open 10 out of 10 times.

With that out of the way, my expectations for this week's test at Oakmont are through the roof. After watching a good chunk of the 2016 final round broadcast - the last time the U.S. Open was held at Oakmont - and a few hours of listening to preview content from around the golf media space, what's most intriguing to me are the differing opinions about what it's going to take to win this weekend.

Driving distance has been a premium for U.S. Opens year after year, and it will be at Oakmont as well, but when it comes to the other key metrics, it seems like a completely mixed bag on which ones are most important. Accuracy off of the tee never hurts anyone, and when you add firm, fast, and undulating greens to the mix, it makes it appear that the field may be more open than it actually is if someone can figure out the rough and accompany that with a hot putter.

Scottie Scheffler is the best player on the planet, but Bryson DeChambeau is the best driver of the golf ball. Rory McIlroy may or may not be checked out, but his game checks every box imaginable, plus he's got a bitter taste in his mouth from his meltdown at Pinehurst a year ago. 

Then you have the players outside of the new ‘Big Three’ like the red-hot Niemann, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, and that collection of players looking to cease momentum and remind the world that they can get the job done on the biggest stage as well.

Every major championship has unknowns, but this one feels different, especially for U.S. Open standards, which should make for a brilliant week. Also, Oakmont is going to look exceptional on television. Get ready for the much-deserved love fest on social media throughout the week.

Ryan Fox Shuts Down The Sam Burns Party In The 51st State

Now for the week that was.

Sam Burns put on an absolute Sunday masterclass at TPC Toronto by firing a final round 62 to post a number of 18-under par two hours before the final group of the day made its way to the 18th green. It was enough to get him into the playoff, but his good fortune ran out in a playoff not for the ages, but one that took ages.

On what was the first of four extra renditions of the Par 5 18th hole during the playoff, the Louisiana native faced a birdie putt inside of eight feet to win his first PGA Tour event since March 2023. It wasn't meant to be.

Fox and Burns traded pars on the somewhat-gettable Par 5 three times before ‘the shot’ was hit by the New Zealand native that slammed the door shut on Burns. After pounding a drive leaving himself less than 270 yards to the flag, Fox hit a fairway wood to seven feet while Burns pulled his approach shot left, leaving him a 40-foot eagle attempt. 

Burns hit his putt too firm and didn't lose his turn with his third putt, and after missing birdie, all the pressure was off of Fox to seal the victory.

Any player who wins two times on Tour in a four-week stretch deserves tons of credit, but the way the 38-year-old Fox is getting the job done is mighty impressive.

While not the biggest guy out there, Fox has an average swing speed that ranks inside the Top 25 on Tour, and finished 21st for the week in average driving distance. You couple that with being the sixth best player in the field in terms of hitting greens in regulation, and you've got a recipe for success.

For a player who didn't make the full-time jump to the PGA Tour until 2023, earning two wins in a season with the dreaded age of 40 creeping up, it's some big-time stuff for the man who still calls Auckland home.

Joaquin Niemann Just Keeps Winning

Joaquin Niemann may have just one Top 10 finish in 21 major championship appearances, but we're officially past the point where joking about this guy's inability to get the job done is acceptable.

Niemann shot 8-under in the final round of LIV Virginia to earn a one-shot win on Sunday, his fourth LIV title in what was only the circuit's eighth event of 2025. Coming from behind to win a tournament filled with rain delays and a leaderboard featuring Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Graeme McDowell, and Phil Mickelson speaks for itself. 

Sure, the conversation that LIV isn't playing the most difficult golf courses on the planet is fair, but four wins in eight starts anywhere is crazy stuff.

Niemann now has six LIV titles to his name since joining the league in 2022. He also made that jump with two PGA Tour wins and a DP World Tour win already to his name. He's also still, somehow someway, only 26 years old.

Not trusting Niemann to get it done on a major championship stage is one thing, but it's damn near impossible at this point not to believe that he has every ounce of the goods needed to contend at a super-consistent rate moving forward.