Sam Burns unveils wild ‘USA’ haircut ahead of 2023 Ryder Cup

“He’s got great hair,” Captain Zach Johnson said. “I mean, I’d do it if I could do it. I just don’t have any hair to do it.”

Johnson was the one who surprised Burns with the call that confirmed he would be on Team USA this year. The Team USA captain apparently called the former LSU golfer while he was on the toilet.

“It was a lot better than the other one,” Burns said of the call. “Yeah, it was really special. Coming into this year, making this team was very high on my goal list I guess you could call it. After the Tour Championship, I wasn’t really sure. I knew I was close and thought it could go a couple different ways.”

Burns told reporters he felt as though the call could have gone either way. In the months leading up to Johnson’s roster decision, he readied himself to receive the news, whichever way it would go.

“Just, at times, I felt like yeah, I think I’d be all right, and other times it felt like, no, that would be the end of the world, which kind of showed me that maybe it meant a little too much.

“So really just kind of going through the process of how can you be content with either scenario.”

Team USA, Team Europe rosters

This year marks the 44th playing of the Ryder Cup, in which Team USA plays Team Europe. The event runs from Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, Italy.

Team Europe has dominated the Ryder Cup since 2002, winning nine of the last 13 events. The United States took home the last victory at Whistling Straits. Captain Zach Johnson rounded out the 12-man roster with his Captain’s selections to finalize the team.

Here’s a look at the American lineup for the Ryder Cup:

• Scottie Scheffler
• Wyndham Clark
• Patrick Cantlay
• Brian Harman
• Xander Schauffele
• Max Homa
• Brooks Koepka
• Justin Thomas
• Jordan Spieth
• Collin Morikawa
• Rickie Fowler
• Sam Burns

Several recognizable names are on the roster for Team Europe this year. The squad is captained by Luke Donald, and it’s an absolutely loaded team for the 2023 event. Members of this year’s Team Europe for the Ryder Cup include:

• Rory McIlroy
• Jon Rahm
• Viktor Hovland
• Tyrrell Hatton
• Matt Fitzpatrick
• Bob MacIntyre
• Tommy Fleetwood
• Sepp Straka
• Justin Rose
• Shane Lowry
• Nicolai Hojgaard
• Ludvig Aberg

On3’s Dustin Schutte contributed to this report.