A bridge too far: How the U.S. stayed undefeated in the Bridges Cup
U.S. captain Jeff Fujimoto (front left), flanked by teammates and their local caddies, celebrate a third straight Bridges Cup victory for the Americans.
Oisin Keniry
In the third iteration of the Bridges Cup, the team of elite mid-amateurs from the United States barely held on in the final session to best the Internationals, 17-15, at Haesley Nine Bridges in South Korea. The victory represents the third straight in this competition for the Americans.
The Bridges Cup is a partnership between South Korean conglomerate CJ Group and 8AM Golf that features two teams in a Ryder Cup-style competition over three days. The first iteration was held at CJ-owned Nine Bridges (No. 87 in GOLF’s world ranking), on Jeju Island in 2022. The next year, the competition moved to Les Bordes (No. 83) in France.
Each team is hand-selected by their captains and comprised of high-level amateur golfers with résumés that include USGA championships and major tournament experience. All of that talent was on display at Haesley.
The 12-man American team came out firing in the opening session Monday, posting a 5-1 lead in the four-ball matches. But the Internationals clawed back in the three-day competition to get within two points to begin Wednesday’s singles session, and, with 12 points up for grabs, it was truly anyone’s tournament. Early on, it seemed that the International squad was riding that momentum for a potential comeback.
“After nine holes, it really looked as though the Internationals could have had a chance to squeak it,” said Simon Holmes, a golf professional and Bridges Cup commentator.
Matthew McClean, Hugh Foley and Lukas Michel won tightly contested morning matches, but the U.S.’s Drew Kittleson finally put red on the board with a 2-and-1 win over Jacob Austin.
The pieces then started falling into place for the U.S. They took five of the last eight matches as Scott Anderson, Andrew Medley and Drew Stoltz all won 5 and 4.
“We never thought it was ever lost,” said International captain Simon Holt. “We rallied like mad, but, in the end, we simply ran out of holes.” Added Holmes, “The way they fought back, the intensity of the competition, the amount of stress that was created for the players and certainly the captains, just goes to show that the Bridges Cup, the combination of 8AM and CJ and this concept of mid-am team golf, is an absolute winner.”
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