Weekly Fantasy Golf Recap: Bridgeman Strikes Again in Asheville

For the first time in recent memory,  there really was no way Brandt Snedeker could go wrong in making his captain's picks for the U.S. Presidents Cup team. There were so many golfers who could stake a claim to deserving a spot in the international competition being contested this coming week at Medinah outside Chicago.

Snedeker made six captain's picks and there were at least another six guys who were worthy enough that, if selected, would not have sparked an outcry on social media (well, probably not, but you know Golf Twitter).

Two of those dozen-ish guys were Jacob Bridgeman and J.J. Spaun. Bridgeman was picked; Spaun was not.

To illustrate Snedeker's luxury of riches, Bridgeman and Spaun both won tournaments on Sunday. Bridgeman captured the inaugural Biltmore Championship Asheville to kick off the PGA Tour's fall season. Spaun, admittedly unhappy about being bypassed, traveled overseas to take down an elite field that included Rory McIlroy in the top tournament on the DP World Tour's calendar, the BMW Championship at Wentworth. More on Spaun in a bit.

Bridgeman was the top-ranked player in the Biltmore field. The Clemson alum grew up in South Carolina, about 50 miles from The Cliffs at Walnut Grove in Asheville, N.C. So this was more than just a golf tournament for him.

Playing in front of 20-something family and friends, Bridgeman found himself in a five-way tie for the lead on the back-nine on Sunday. But never let his foot off the pedal, let let the emotions get to him. in shooting a lights-out 10-under 61 for a 26-under total, his second career title and second this year, piggybacking on Riviera back in February. Rookie Ben James also shot 61 on Sunday to take solo second, two shots back.

Bridgeman showed that Snedeker's pick was sound. These international competitions turn so much on putting. Bridgeman led the Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting during the season, and he also led the Biltmore field, gaining more than eight strokes. He also ranked third in SG: Approach across the four days, a sure-fire stat combo for victory.

"Yeah, my goal to start the year was to win, make East Lake, and make the Presidents Cup, so I hit all those and hit the win category twice," said Bridgeman, who finished fourth at the Tour Championship. "Pretty amazing. Super excited about Presidents Cup next week. I'm very pleased with how I'm playing, rolling into it, and I think everyone else is just as pumped as I am."

Bridgeman and Jackson Koivun were the two Americans on the Presidents Cup team here this week, plus assistant captain Webb Simpson. The Internationals had five players and two assistant captains (Taylor Pendrith and Camilo Villegas).

"Jackson and I were talking this week," Bridgeman said. "We played the first couple days. It's real now. We're getting really stoked about it. Yeah, pumped about it."

Because of the proximity to his hometown and roots, Bridgeman surely would've played this week even if the Presidents Cup weren't a week later. But it did double as some valuable prep.

"Just wanted to get in kind of a competitive feel again," he said. "I had a couple weeks off. Played a bunch of golf in there, practiced a ton, so just kind of wanted to get the competitive reps in and see where my game was, and I'm pretty pleased."

Bridgeman showed during the season how good of a putter he is. He also improved his iron play significantly, resulting in being a top-20 player on Tour. There's no reason he can't continue to get even better in 2027, which could likely tick off another goal of his:

Making the Ryder Cup.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Ben James
James doesn't have the same name recognition as Koivun, but he also had one of the great college careers in recent memory. He was, a four-time all-American at Virginia and winner of 2026 PGA Tour University.  And on Sunday, he shot a 10-under 61 to push Bridgeman to the very end. In his previous start, James finished third at the Wyndham (so much for being rusty after more than a month off). He moved up to 66th in the FedEx Cup point standings. As a reminder, those finishing between 51st and 60th at the end of the fall calendar get into the first two signature events next season.

Ricky Castillo
Castillo had an underrated regular season, one that saw him win the Puerto Rico Open and reach the playoffs. And now with a tie for third, he's up to 57th in the point standings. After an opening 69, Castillo went 62-65-65. He'll be disappointed he couldn't win the Biltmore after being tied for the lead on the back nine, but at age 25 it seems more good days are ahead.

Neal Shipley
The 25-year-old old out of Ohio State was the 36-hole and 54-hole leader after firing a Friday 62. He couldn't close the deal for his first PGA Tour event, but he did wind up in a tie for third with his best showing on Tour. He still has a lot of work to do in the fall, now standing 135th in points.

J.T. Poston
The Western Carolina alum was part of the five-way tie for the lead on the back nine. But he was far ahead in his round and it was only a matter of time before he ran out of holes and was overtaken in this birdie-fest. Still, Poston tied for fifth. He finished the playoffs in the top-50, so all he's playing for in the fall is cash.

Jackson Koivun
The Presidents Cup captain's pick tuned up for next week's competition with a tie for fifth. He moved from 67th in points to 62nd. We should see a good bit of Koivin during the fall, as he ties to get inside the top-60 to qualify for the first two signature events next season.

Blades Brown
The 19-year-old old shot 65-64 on the weekend to end in a tie for 17th. We should see a lot of him during the fall in advance of him getting his PGA Tour card for next season.

Adam Hadwin
The one-time PGA Tour winner had all but fallen off the face of the Earth. He lost his Tour card last season and played this season on the Korn Ferry Tour – and not overly well, with just two top-10s in 12 starts. He was worse in limited PGA Tour starts. Hadwin tied for 39th this week, almost matching his age of 38.

Corey Conners
A Presidents Cup captain's pick, Conners tied for 43rd to finish as the best of the five International players in the field.

Nick Taylor
Taylor prepped for the Presidents Cup as an Internationals captain's pick with a tie for 57th.

MISSED CUTS
Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Ryo Hisatsune, Nico Echavarria, Tony Finau, Lanto Griffin. The first three guys are captain's picks for the Presidents Cup International team. … Finau appears cooked after failing to reach the weekend in a very week field – after failing to reach the playoffs. … Griffin was a WD with a back injury.
 

BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

J.J. Spaun won in a far tougher field than Bridgeman, capturing the star-studded flagship DP World Tour event at Wentworth by two strokes over a quartet of golfers, including McIlroy. 

Spaun was overlooked for a Presidents Cup captain's pick by Snedeker, and he said he used the snub as fuel this week.

"I played with a huge chip on my shoulder," Spaun said. "I definitely had something to prove this week, but everything happens for a reason."

This was the second biggest win of Spaun's career, after the 2025 U.S. Open.

Nacho Elvira eagled the 17th to tie Spaun for the lead, only to double-bogey the par-5 18th to crushingly tumble into that four-way tied for second.

It's no secret Spaun is among the best players in the world tee-to-green. He ranked second in the field in both driving accuracy and greens in regulation For him, it's all about the putting. He ranked 132nd during the PGA Tour season. He was 45th at Wentworth, which is a huge improvement and, obviously, good enough with the rest of his game.

Rory McIlroy
McIlroy finished in a four-way tie for second, two shots behind Spaun. This is the start of what should be a busy worldwide run for McIlroy through the end of the year. He is still vying to win the Race to Dubai.

Adam Scott
The leader of the Presidents Cup Internationals, Scott had a great tuneup with a tie for second.

Ryan Fox
The Open Championship winner prepped for the Presidents Cup with a tie for sixth.

MISSED CUTS
Tommy Fleetwood, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed. For Fleetwood, it wasn't great to MC. For Koepka, it was bad after a terrible PGA Tour season. For Rahm, it was a disaster, as he finished dead last in the field among those who completed two rounds. Reed was playing well, but had to withdraw on Friday with an injury. He is competing with McIlroy to win the Race to Dubai.

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