Scottie Scheffler and his wife Meredith reached out to Sam Burns through a lengthy phone call after an uncomfortable Ryder Cup incident. The two PGA Tour professionals have been close friends since their teenage years. Their bond has run parallel to a meteoric rise to fame on the world’s courses and fairways.

Burns even served as best man at Scheffler’s wedding when the 29-year-old tied the knot with Meredith Scudder in late 2020. Their close relationship has meant their respective families have grown increasingly intertwined over the years: sharing rental properties while away on tour, going on holiday together, and even enjoying cosy couples’ game nights. Yet this rock-solid friendship was put under serious strain by an uncomfortable incident five years ago. Both men were competing for the final Ryder Cup berth when US captain Steve Stricker opted to overlook Burns, ringing him to deliver the blow he had not made the squad.

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Scheffler was handed the spot instead despite not having secured a single PGA Tour victory at the time, while Burns already had five titles to his name. Rather than allowing the tension to erode their closeness, the Texan and his wife made the decision to ring Burns directly, speaking openly for well over an hour as they worked through their feelings together. Scheffler later explained: “That can ruin a friendship if it’s not something that’s talked about.”

Burns also added: “Me, Caroline, Scottie and Meredith spent a long time on a phone call with these weird emotions of like, ‘Man, I am really sad but also happy for him.’ If it had been someone else, I would have been more disappointed that I wasn’t on the team.”

The choice to go with Scheffler ultimately paid dividends, as he went on to defeat then World No.1 Jon Rahm while the US stormed to victory. Since that moment, Scheffler has been on a relentlessly upward trajectory, boasting two Masters titles, a PGA Championship and an Open among his achievements. He has also held the top spot in the OWGR rankings since May 2023. Yet his remarkable ascent to fame and fortune has done nothing to alter his bond with Burns.

Reflecting on their morning routine ahead of last year’s US Open, Scheffler revealed: “The conversation in the morning will be that we’ll just hang out, there will be our two little kids running around. There’s nothing crazy, there’s not much to say.

“Sam has been preparing for moments like this for a long time and he’s put himself into a position to win the golf tournament. He’s going to go out and try to execute. At the end of the day, all he’s going to do is try to do his best and that’s what I’m going to do tomorrow as well.”

Burns, meanwhile, opened up about his close bond with Scheffler last year. saying: “Scottie is obviously an incredible player, I don’t think I need to say that. We spend a lot of time together and being able to talk to him, learn from him and ask him questions has been really cool. As good of a player he is, he’s an even better guy and I think that’s what makes it really special to watch, you want to root for someone like that. He’s an easy guy to root for. It’s been nice to pick his brain and ask him certain things.”

It comes as Burns currently holds the upper hand over Scheffler at this year’s Masters at Augusta National, heading into round two level at the top of the leaderboard alongside defending champion Rory McIlroy. Both men carded impressive scores of five under par on Thursday, as the tournament continues to captivate.

Scheffler, by contrast, could only manage a score of two under on the day. He currently sits T6 alongside Shane Lowry, Xander Schauffele and Justin Rose. Scheffler is set to tee off alongside Robert MacIntyre and Gary Woodland at 3.19pm BST on Friday, while Burns begins his round at 5.23pm BST alongside Cameron Smith and Jake Knapp.