Petty Season Delivers Once Again

Petty Season has quickly become one of my favorite stretches of the year.

For the uninitiated, “Petty Season” refers to the window between Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup captain’s picks and the official start of the team competition itself. This year, much to my delight, we have a Petty Season champion.

J.J. Spaun, fresh off not getting picked for the American team despite ranking 10th in points, took down the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth with birdies on four of his last five holes for his second win of the calendar year.

“I’ve kind of blossomed into this player I never thought I could be,” the 2025 U.S. Open champion said after the win. “I’m just grateful to have the opportunity and play and play well and give myself a chance and came out with a W.”

He was also the beneficiary of curious decision-making by Manuel Elvira. Holding a share of the lead on the par-5 18th, Elvira elected to hit iron off the tee, then laid up into a bunker and made a mess from there, double-bogeying the final hole to come up two shots short.

Petty Season is an opportunity for guys to knock off some rust before the Presidents Cup starts. For the aggrieved, it’s also a chance to make a statement about why they should have been one of the 12. Spaun didn’t mince words when discussing the motivation he had to come over to Wentworth and prove he belonged on the American roster.

“I played with a huge chip on my shoulder,” he said. “I definitely had something to prove this week…being left off the Presidents Cup team a couple weeks ago was very disappointing, and you know, I wanted to prove that I deserve to be on that team. I took care of my business this week. So all the best to the team next week at Medinah and I'll be watching.”

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In all fairness to Team USA captain Brandt Snedeker, Spaun made for a tricky selection given his up-and-down recent play and unceremonious exit from the Tour Championship with a shoulder injury.

But damn it, there is nothing better than a Petty Season champion. I can’t wait for Angel Ayora to win this event next year.

Elsewhere out of Wentworth, tensions between LIV golfers and their futures on the DP World Tour remain. Joaquin Niemann, one of LIV Golf’s top performers since signing in 2022, told reporters he has not yet committed to LIV 2.0.

Also, Golf Digest’s Evin Priest spoke with Ben Cowen, the DP World Tour’s Chief Tournament and Operations Officer, about whether LIV posed a threat to the DP World Tour.

“It's frustrating as well without a doubt, when everyone is now talking about trying to complete rather than compete,” Cowen said. “For us, it very much felt like a competition and a threat from outside and we had to do what we could to try and protect our business.

“Without a doubt, they were and are a competitor. I don’t think anyone could say otherwise. If they say they weren’t, that’s an interesting take on it.”

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Rounding out the other leg of Petty Season on the other side of the pond, Jacob Bridgeman shot a final-round 61 to win the inaugural Biltmore Championship Asheville by two strokes.

Bridgeman, regrettably, is not an aggrieved golfer. To the surprise of many, he was selected by Snedeker to make the trip to Chicago this week, a nice feather in the captain’s cap with Presidents Cup week upon us.

“This is the reason I played this week,” Bridgeman said afterward. “I wanted to prep. I practiced so hard last week and really practiced really hard in the playoffs trying to make the team. I was giving it my full effort.”

In other Presidents Cup news, six non-Bridgeman Presidents Cuppers were in action in Asheville. American Jackson Koivun finished T-5, while five Internationals were also in the field: Corey Conners (T-43), Nick Taylor (T-57), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (MC), Ryo Hisatsune (MC), and Nico Echavarria (MC).

It may be a tall order for the International side at Medinah.