Biltmore Championship
Sunday, September 20, 2026
Asheville, North Carolina, USA
The Cliffs at Walnut Cove
Jacob Bridgeman
Press Conference
THE MODERATOR: Like to the introduce the 2-26 champion of the inaugural Biltmore Championship Asheville Jacob Bridgeman. Jacob, what a round of golf, what a week. If we can get some of comments.
JACOB BRIDGEMAN: Yeah, amazing week. I played well. I think I got off to a hot start every day this week. I don't know what my front nine average was, but it was pretty good.
It was my goal today to get off to a hot start and see where I was at, and I just kept it rolling. I felt like when I turned I just made enough ground. Then it was kind of a tournament between all of us. Didn't feel like I had to chase anymore.
Then, yeah, the putter was just rolling well all week. Seeing the lines great. Made a ton of birdies and some crucial par saves. But, yeah, really pleased with my game.
Q. It was already a great season for you; now a dream season. Two wins; you're heading to the Presidents Cup. Just talk a little bit about all of this taking place.
JACOB BRIDGEMAN: 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.
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.
Jackson and I were talking this week. We played the first couple days. It's real now. We're getting really stoked about it. Yeah, pumped about it.
Q. Just with all the local ties, what does that mean to win here in Asheville?
JACOB BRIDGEMAN: Yeah, I had my parents, my in-laws, my wife, couple cousins here, a ton of friends, so, yeah, just really cool to perform in front of them.
I feel like I had a crowd the whole day. They were just kind of rooting me on. Kept the momentum going.
Q. First off, congratulations. First two rounds were pretty strong. Last two you took it to another level. What was different about the last 36 holes?
JACOB BRIDGEMAN: I think just focusing on my targets. I felt like the first couple days I got off to a great start and I was kind of pushing a little bit more to try to take it even deeper and I made a couple errors on the back nine the first couple days that I shouldn't because I was being uncharacteristically aggressive.
Then the last couple days I felt like I got off to great start again. I was putting it well. I felt confident over 15-footers, so I didn't really have to go at some of the pins. I could hit it out, be a little bit safer, trust my putter and that's what worked out.
Q. Winning the inaugural event, is there any different feeling being the first champion of a golf tournament?
JACOB BRIDGEMAN: I don't think so. Same one. Hopefully I'll come back next year and defend it well.
Yeah, inaugural, whatever it is, if it's the tenth event, it's pretty close to home and feels like a home game, so very good.
Q. Considerably different wins, LA and here.
JACOB BRIDGEMAN: Yeah.
Q. Compare the emotions and feelings.
JACOB BRIDGEMAN: Yeah, same greens. That worked out. I would say last year if you asked me I would be pretty poor putter on poana greens and I figured that out.
Yeah, LA was such a high profile event. Felt like everything was against me that last day and I pulled through and was able to take it down.
To win Tiger's event is a dream come true, and then to do it here in front of a home crowd is definitely a different feel but just as special.
Q. A feel for poana greens, when was that kind of happening for you over the last year?
JACOB BRIDGEMAN: Yeah, I think on the West Coast Swing this year at Pebble I was asking some of my putter guys, what do I need to do differently. All of them said the same thing: Nothing. It's probably the only reason I was struggling was just a mindset thing. Went out thinking I was going to make a bunch putts thinking it was the same thing as any other green, and it worked out.
Q. Obviously winning is always a top priority beginning of the week, but was there something you wanted to do this week to help you better set for next week for the Presidents Cup?
JACOB BRIDGEMAN: No, not really. Just wanted to get in kind of a competitive feel again. 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.
Q. You talked on Tuesday about how special it would be to win here. With the anniversary of Helene coming right up, too, what do you hope people who watch this at home think about Asheville?
JACOB BRIDGEMAN: Yeah, I hope I brought some eyeballs here. It's a super cool town, great golf course and community. I'm a member of The Cliffs. They have seven great golf courses. So I hope everyone that watched on TV and came out appreciates how cool this area is. It's kind of a microclimate here in the mountains. We got a little lucky with the storms today. It can be an issue with the fog and all that.
But just amazing, amazing place and I'm glad everyone came out.
Q. What are you most looking forward to with the Presidents Cup?
JACOB BRIDGEMAN: I think playing as a team. It's not something we get very often, playing as a team but also playing for our country. It just means a whole lot more. I think you'll see some emotion come out, some guys elevate their game just because of how focused we are and how much we want to win.
THE MODERATOR: All right, Jacob, thank you.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports170994-1-5464 2026-09-20 20:42:00 GMT
