Jacob Bridgeman Wins the Biltmore Championship Asheville With a Career-Best 61

Five shots back at sunrise, an hour from where he grew up, with his parents in the gallery for the first time at one of his wins. Jacob Bridgeman turned Sunday at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove into the best round of his PGA TOUR life.

Bridgeman fired a bogey-free 10-under 61 to win the inaugural Biltmore Championship Asheville at 26-under 258, two shots clear of Ben James, who also shot 61. Neal Shipley, the 54-hole leader, closed with a 69 and tied for third at 23 under with Ricky Castillo (65). J.T. Poston (60) and Jackson Koivun (65) shared fifth at 21 under. It is Bridgeman's second win of 2026, after his breakthrough at Riviera in February, and it made him the sixth multiple winner of the season.

A Fast Start, Then the Saves

After a brief fog delay pushed back the start, Bridgeman came out like a player who had done the math. He birdied three of his first four holes, then holed a 10-footer for eagle at the par-5 eighth. Just like that, he was 5 under through eight holes and right in the fight.

The round could have stalled in the middle. At the 11th he needed a 13-foot par putt to keep the card clean. At the par-4 12th he went from one bunker to another across the green and still walked off with par after rolling in a 12-footer. Those two putts did not show up as red numbers, but they were the hinge of the whole afternoon.

What followed was the knockout. Bridgeman birdied the 13th, 14th and 15th in a row to pull away, then added another birdie at the 17th. He even had late eagle looks from about 10 and 20 feet, missed both and settled for tap-in birdies. Eight birdies, one eagle, no bogeys, and the lowest score of his TOUR career.

The Putter Did the Heavy Lifting

This win was built on the greens. Bridgeman leads the TOUR in the key putting statistic, per the AP, and Golf Digest reported he gained more than eight strokes on the field with his putter over four rounds. On a rain-softened course playing under lift, clean and place all week, everybody was hitting it close. Bridgeman simply made more of them.

He opened 66-67, sat five back after a third-round 64 and then went 61 when it counted. The $900,000 winner's check from the $5 million purse is nice. The family on hand made it better.

"I think they wanted me to get a win in front of them," Bridgeman said, per the AP. "I didn't think it would happen this soon. I'm just super pumped."

The 26-year-old grew up in Inman, South Carolina, played his college golf at Clemson and lives in Greenville, roughly 65 miles south. His parents, his wife, his wife's parents, cousins and friends followed him around the property. His parents had not been at Riviera for his first win, which you can relive in our Genesis Invitational story.

James and Poston Push the Pace

James did everything possible to force the issue. The 23-year-old shot 61 for the second straight tournament, birdied three of the last four holes and scrambled for par at the last to post 24 under. It was a terrific round that simply started from too far back.

Poston nearly stole the headlines entirely. Starting the day well back, Poston shot 60 and stood over a 25-foot putt for 59 that just missed. Golf Digest noted that Shipley, James, Castillo and Poston were all in the mix with nine holes left before Bridgeman's back-nine run left them behind.

Shipley's Good Week Still Pays

For Shipley, Sunday was the hardest day of the week. The rookie, bogey-free for 54 holes, did not make his first birdie until the par-5 eighth and never got under par for the round in time to keep pace. Still, a tie for third is a huge result for a player who arrived at No. 183 in the FedExCup standings. Shipley moved up to No. 135, per the AP, with seven FedExCup Fall events left to chase the top 100.

Ben Kohles, who started one back, struggled to a 73 and tied for 15th. Eric Cole also shot 73 and fell into a tie for 24th, while Max Greyserman closed with 68 to finish tied for 10th, a meaningful result in his own fight to keep his card.

Medinah Next

Bridgeman did not have long to celebrate. He and Koivun, a 21-year-old rookie who made his pro debut in July and has already won the 3M Open, were U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker's picks for the Presidents Cup and headed straight to Medinah outside Chicago. Koivun went 63-65 on the weekend to tie for fifth. Snedeker had picked them over J.J. Spaun, who won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth earlier on Sunday.

Bridgeman started the year 81st in the world, and Golf Digest has him up to 29th. He set three goals for 2026: win a tournament, reach the TOUR Championship at East Lake and make the Presidents Cup team. All three are checked off, and now he gets to show up at Medinah as a two-time winner riding a 61.

Catch up on the full week: Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3. The PGA TOUR's final-round recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (final-round recap, AP), Golf Digest, NBC Sports, The Golf News Net (final results). More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.