FedExCup Fall update: Matti Schmid surges into top 125 at Butterfield Bermuda Championship
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SOUTHAMPTON, BERMUDA - NOVEMBER 12: Matthias Schmid of Germany plays his shot from the fourth tee during the final round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course on November 12, 2023 in Southampton, Bermuda. (Photo by Marianna Massey/Getty Images)
Matti Schmid was a bit of an outlier Sunday at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Alex Noren and eventual winner Camilo Villegas are both in their 40s and have been part of the PGA TOUR family for a long while.
Schmid, meanwhile, is just 25. This year is his first full go-around on TOUR. There’s been plenty of learning and some stretches of golf he’d certainly like to have back. However, for the first time in the 2022-23 season he’s made three cuts in a row. And on the back of his third-place finish at Port Royal Golf Course – his best-ever TOUR result – he made a serious leap up the FedExCup Fall standings to No. 120 from No. 148.
Schmid, of Germany, fired rounds of 64-67-65 to earn a spot in the final group Sunday alongside Noren and Villegas. He was 3-under through nine holes, but a bogey on the par-4 11th was his eventual undoing as Villegas made birdies on Nos. 15 and 17 and won by two.
Matti Schmid throws a dart to set up birdie at Butterfield Bermuda
Schmid said he had been driving it well and hitting his irons solid leading into the week, and his wedge game had improved a lot through the season.
“If we can keep the putter going, I know I can always shoot a good score, which is good,” Schmid said.
Although Schmid’s 4-under 67 on Sunday left him short of a victory, it was a great effort in the bigger PGA TOUR picture. He’ll tee it up at The RSM Classic next week looking to solidify his spot on TOUR for 2024.
“Awesome week for me,” Schmid said. “I know I moved inside the top 125 now, which was a huge goal for me this week. And next week I want to cap it off.”
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Luke List, who won the Sanderson Farms Championship in a playoff, fired rounds of 66-66 on the weekend in Bermuda to finish tied for 20th. He jumped from No. 61 to No. 58 in the FedExCup Fall standings with just one event left to try to qualify for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational via The Next 10.
After Noren’s runner-up, he moved from No. 86 to No. 64 and is within shouting distance of that Nos. 51-60 mark. He’ll tee it up at The RSM Classic to try to jump inside the top 60.
Alex Noren sends in birdie putt at Butterfield Bermuda
Mark Hubbard moved from No. 64 to No. 61 after finishing tied for 20th in Bermuda. He’ll also be in the field next week at Sea Island to try to make a last-event leap.
Both Alex Smalley (up one spot to No. 57) and Ben Griffin (up two spots to No. 54) kept a hold on their positions inside The Next 10.
Other movers
Carl Yuan moved to the magic No. 125 number after shooting a 5-under 66 Sunday. Yuan’s fourth-place finish was his best-career result on the PGA TOUR.
Tyson Alexander solidified his spot in the top 125 after firing a 7-under 64 Sunday in Bermuda, the round of the day. He moved to No. 100 from No. 116.
Kevin Roy notched his first-ever top-10 finish on the PGA TOUR after a 6-under 65 Sunday. His tie for eighth moved him up 25 spots on the FedExCup Fall standings and to No. 158, just outside the top-150 mark.
That number will also be an important one into next week. At the end of the FedExCup Fall, those who are ranked 126-150 on the Points List will have conditional status for the 2024 PGA TOUR season, and all players outside the top 125 can improve or regain TOUR status via PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.