Burns Grabs PGA Tour lead in California with sizzling 61

LA QUINTA - Sam Burns notched two eagles on the way to an 11-under-par 61 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead over Michael Kim in the US PGA Tour American Express tournament in La Quinta, California,

The 27-year-old American said he didn't realize he was within sight of the 13th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history until he was on the 17th green, where his birdie putt from about 25 feet slid by.

He parred 18 to cap his career-best round, heading the field on 17-under-par 127 on another low-scoring day in the California desert east of Los Angeles.

Burns kickstarted his round with a 15-foot eagle at the par-five fourth hole on the Nicklaus Tournament Course, one of three in use over the first three rounds of the event.

He added birdies at the fifth, sixth and seventh, then eagled the par-five 11th where he hit a "perfect seven-iron" that left him three feet for eagle.

"Overall just a really solid day," said Burns, who added birdies at 13, 14, 15 and 16 to grab the solo lead. "I hit a lot of quality shots and was able to make some putts."

Burns said he wasn't thinking about a 59.

"Based off the scores, obviously everybody's shooting some good numbers, so I think (I was) just trying to keep pace and trying to hit as many quality shots and get as many looks as possible," he said.