Golf's Big September: The Medinah Comeback, Fitzpatrick's Fourth Win and the World Top 10
By Marcus Bell, Tour News Editor
If you looked away from golf for a couple of weeks, you missed a lot. A record Sunday at the Presidents Cup, a fourth win of the year for Matt Fitzpatrick, a statement from J.J. Spaun at Wentworth and a closing 61 from Jacob Bridgeman. Here is the quick catch-up, plus where the world ranking stands heading into October.
The Presidents Cup: Team USA rallies at Medinah
The 16th Presidents Cup was played September 24 to 27 at Medinah Country Club's No. 3 course outside Chicago. For three days, it looked like the International Team might finally win on American soil.
The Internationals swept Friday's foursomes 5-0 and took a 10.5 to 7.5 lead into Sunday. Brandt Snedeker's U.S. side needed eight of the 12 singles points just to avoid a first defeat since 1998.
They got 9.5. That set a record for the singles session, and it added up to a 17-13 final score and an 11th straight U.S. win in the event.
A few moments that stood out:
Jacob Bridgeman clinched it. The Presidents Cup rookie beat Min Woo Lee 1 up on the 18th green to push the U.S. past the 15.5 points it needed.
Jackson Koivun delivered. Another rookie, Koivun beat Si Woo Kim, the Internationals' top-ranked player, 2 up.
Collin Morikawa flipped the momentum. One down on the 15th green, he holed a 30-foot birdie putt, then won his match against Hideki Matsuyama 1 up.
The veterans held firm. Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele never trailed in their singles matches, and all four won.
The setting added some history. Medinah is where the U.S. lost a Sunday lead to Europe at the 2012 Ryder Cup. And International captain Geoff Ogilvy's design firm, OCM Golf, reworked No. 3 ahead of this event, giving it a wider, Melbourne sandbelt-inspired look.
Medinah Country Club's domed, Moorish-style clubhouse. Click to enlarge. Photo: Dan Perry, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Medinah's No. 3 has a long championship résumé: three U.S. Opens (1949, 1975, 1990), two PGA Championships won by Tiger Woods (1999, 2006), the 2012 Ryder Cup and now the 2026 Presidents Cup.
Next up for the Americans is the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland, September 17 to 19, with Jim Furyk as captain. The next Presidents Cup heads to Kingston Heath in Melbourne in 2028.
Matt Fitzpatrick wins the Open de France for title No. 4
While the Presidents Cup was underway, Matt Fitzpatrick was at Le Golf National outside Paris. He closed with a 1-under 70 to finish 20 under and win the FedEx Open de France by three shots over Spain's Angel Hidalgo.
That makes four titles in 2026 for the Englishman. The others were the Valspar Championship, the RBC Heritage and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which he won alongside his younger brother, Alex.
Le Golf National near Paris, home of the FedEx Open de France (photo from 2011, ahead of the 2018 Ryder Cup there). Click to enlarge. Photo: Lionel Allorge, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
J.J. Spaun answers at Wentworth
On September 20, J.J. Spaun responded to being left off the U.S. Presidents Cup team by winning the BMW PGA Championship, the DP World Tour's flagship event, in his first start there. He birdied four of his last five holes, shot 67 and finished 17 under to win by two at Wentworth Club.
Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott and PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai were part of a four-way tie for second. It was Spaun's second win of 2026 after the Valero Texas Open in April, and it came a little over a year after his 2025 U.S. Open win at Oakmont.
Jacob Bridgeman's big fortnight
Bridgeman's clinching point at Medinah capped a strong stretch. The Sunday before, he shot a 10-under 61 to come from five shots back and win the inaugural Biltmore Championship Asheville at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove. He finished 26 under, two clear of Ben James, for his second PGA Tour win of the year. The first came at Riviera in the Genesis Invitational.
The Official World Golf Ranking top 10
As of September 28, 2026 (the ranking through September 27):
Scottie Scheffler
Rory McIlroy
Cameron Young
Matt Fitzpatrick
Wyndham Clark
Russell Henley
Chris Gotterup
Sam Burns
Tommy Fleetwood
Xander Schauffele
The top 10 did not change from the week before. Scheffler's average points (17.47) are roughly double McIlroy's (8.81) in second. Just outside the top 10 are Collin Morikawa (11th) and J.J. Spaun (12th), and Bridgeman sits 20th.
Bringing the moment home
Big weeks like these are why so many golfers end up with a course on the wall. Maybe it's the place you watched a comeback, or the course where your favorite player won. For Spaun fans, it might be Oakmont. If you still think about the singles rally that came up short at Bethpage Black at last year's Ryder Cup, that one counts too.
At ShopGolfMaps, we make bespoke course maps along with course-themed towels, blankets, clocks, lamps, mouse pads and storage boxes for courses like Oakmont, Bethpage Black, Shinnecock, Pebble Beach, TPC Scottsdale and Torrey Pines. If a course from this fall stuck with you, we'd be glad to help you find a way to keep it around.
Enjoy the rest of the fall schedule. There's plenty of good golf left in 2026.
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