Baycurrent Classic Round 1: Jacob Bridgeman Shakes Off the Rust With a Bogey-Free 63 in Yokohama

Two weeks ago Jacob Bridgeman was standing over the par putt that clinched a Presidents Cup. Since then there has been a sister's wedding in Maine, a stop in Las Vegas, a long flight to Japan and, by the player's own account, not a lot of golf.

None of it showed on Thursday. Bridgeman shot a bogey-free, 8-under 63 at Yokohama Country Club to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the Baycurrent Classic. Jordan Smith, also bogey-free, is alone in second at 7-under 64. Max Homa, Pierceson Coody, Mac Meissner and Ricky Castillo are tied for third at 6 under after 65s.

Rust? What Rust?

Bridgeman did not exactly arrive with a sharp game in hand. After making the clinching par putt against Min Woo Lee at the Presidents Cup, per the AP, the plan was rest, family and a little practice. The AP reported that Bridgeman slept a good bit on the plane over and played nine holes on Tuesday.

"I felt a little rusty to be honest, but I was able to score the ball well," Bridgeman said, per the AP and the PGA TOUR.

That is an understatement. Eight birdies, no bogeys, and a finish that turned a good round into the best one of the day: four birdies over the last five holes, per the AP. Only one of those eight birdies, an 18-footer at the 13th, came from outside 10 feet. Bridgeman ranked first in Strokes Gained: Putting for the day, according to the PGA TOUR, which is the kind of stat that makes a rusty swing irrelevant.

Smith Keeps Rolling

Smith was the man who holed an albatross at Black Desert last week, and the Englishman brought the hot hand across the Pacific. A clean 64 has Smith one back and, again, right in the middle of the conversation.

Smith spent nine years on the European tour before this rookie PGA TOUR season, per the AP, and has made 17 of 23 cuts with six top-20 finishes and a solo third at the Farmers Insurance Open, according to the PGA TOUR. Smith told reporters that everything on this side of the game is new, from the faces to the places to the golf courses, and said being able to adapt that quickly was something to be happy about.

The PGA TOUR noted that a FedExCup Fall win would lock in a place in the 2028 Championship Series. For a rookie, that is a career-shaping prize sitting one shot away.

The 65 Club

The group at 6 under came in from every direction. Homa made five birdies on the front nine, gave one back with a bogey at the par-4 11th and birdied the 16th to post 65. Meissner was even par at the turn and then exploded on the back nine with four birdies and an eagle.

Castillo had the most fun way to get there. On the 378-yard, par-4 15th, which was only the sixth hole of Castillo's round, the approach went in for an eagle 2, per the PGA TOUR. Coody rounded out the foursome.

Behind them, Keith Mitchell, Kristoffer Ventura, Michael Thorbjornsen, Andrew Putnam and David Lipsky are tied for eighth at 5 under.

Stars in the Pack

This is the strongest field of the FedExCup Fall, per the AP, and 13 of the 24 players from the Presidents Cup made the trip. Plenty of them are within range.

Hideki Matsuyama, the 2021 champion of this event and the home favorite, opened with a 67 and sits at 4 under alongside Ryo Hisatsune, Min Woo Lee and Collin Morikawa. Michael Brennan, who won his second title of the season at the Wyndham in August, shot 68 to sit five back.

Not everybody got off the plane swinging. Defending champion Xander Schauffele shot 1-under 70 and is seven shots behind. Jordan Spieth, making a FedExCup Fall debut, had birdies, bogeys and a double bogey in a 72 that left him tied for 52nd. Rickie Fowler shot 73, and Billy Horschel and Tony Finau each opened with 71.

Why It Matters

The FedExCup Fall math is the same here as everywhere else. Players like Smith and Homa are chasing a top-60 finish in the standings, which brings spots in the early Signature Events at Pebble Beach and Riviera, according to the AP. Horschel and Finau, per the AP, are fighting to stay inside the top 100 and keep full cards for 2027.

There is no 36-hole cut in this 72-player field, so nobody is going home Friday. That changes the math for the players who started slowly. There is time to recover. There is also no reason for anyone at the top to play safe.

Looking to Friday

Bridgeman leads by one, with a putter that ranked best in the field and a body clock that is still somewhere over the Pacific. Smith is right behind after a second straight week near the top of a leaderboard on Thursday. Four players sit two back, and Yokohama's par 71 showed on Thursday that it will give up birdies to anyone hitting fairways.

Five players sit within two shots of Bridgeman, and 10 are within three. Friday will tell us whether Bridgeman's rust was just a story or a warning.

Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR tournament page (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 1 recap), AP. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.