CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson senior Jacob Bridgeman will make his debut in a PGA Tour event at this weekend’s Wells Fargo Invitational at the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm in Potomac, Md. Bridgeman received a sponsor’s exemption for the tournament over the weekend and will be one of six Clemson golfers past or present who will be in the field.
Bridgeman will retain his amateur status and return to the Clemson lineup for the NCAA Regional Tournament, May 16-18. He will be the 10th golfer to play in a PGA Tournament while still a member of the Clemson team, the first to do it since Bryson Nimmer finished 47th at the 2019 Puerto Rico Open.
Bridgeman has had a strong senior year and is ranked second on the latest PGA University rankings. He has a 70.37 stroke average for the academic year for his nine tournaments and 27 rounds. He has six top 10 finishes and two victories, including winning the ACC Tournament in his most recent start. He has 14 rounds in the 60s and 18 under-par rounds.
Bridgeman has had five consecutive top four finishes, the longest streak of its kind since D.J. Trahan had six straight during the 2001-02 season. He also won the Linger Longer Invitational on March 22 when he shot 16-under par 200 for 54 holes.
The native of Inman, S.C. is second in Clemson history to Doc Redman in career stroke average with a 70.73 figure. At the ACC Tournament he set the Clemson record for career rounds in the 60s and now has 49.
Bridgeman will be joined in the Wells Fargo by former Tigers Bryson Nimmer, Lucas Glover, Jonathan Byrd, Doc Redman, Ben Martin and Turk Pettit.
Like Bridgeman, Nimmer and Martin received a sponsor’s exemptions. Nimmer has played in nine PGA events in his career and has made the cut six times, including last week’s Mexico Open. Glover, the only former Tiger to win a professional major (2009 US Open), is a fully exempt member of the tour after winning the John Deere Classic last year.
Byrd is a 19-year veteran of the PGA Tour with five PGA wins on his resume who is coming off a 15th place finish at the Mexico Open. Redman is 125th on the FedEx Cup list this year, while Martin finished 11th at last year’s Wells Fargo.
The Wells Fargo is normally held at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, but was moved to the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm because Quail Hollow will serve as host of the President’s Cup in September. The TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm has played host to 21 PGA Tour events in the past, most recently in 2018 when the Quicken Loans Invitational was held there.
