At this year’s Bridges Cup, the pressure comes with 1 unanswered question | News

You could call it a friendly rivalry between Jeff Fujimoto and Simon Holt, the two captains at next month’s Bridges Cup. They agree on most things, such as the fact that they are excited that the first international amateur tag team competition is heading to such a prestigious place as Trump Turnberry. And that the Bridges Cup, to be played for the fourth time, is instrumental in promoting mid-amateur golf and shows players who balance work and family while competing at a high level.

U alone What can Fujimoto and Holt not agree on? Which team should be favored in the upcoming Bridges Cup.

“The level of competition every year seems to be stronger and stronger,” said Fujimoto, the US captain. “It’s exciting — I think we’re going to go in and upset them.”

“I probably wouldn’t agree that they are underdogs,” added Holt, the captain of the international team. “History says the U.S. won three times, but it’s going to be great. The Americans are coming out incredibly strong — they always do — and we can’t wait to get there and go toe-to-toe again.”

This year’s Bridges Cup, set for October 5-7 at Trump Turnberry in South Ayrshire, Scotland, could be the most anticipated yet.

The Americans won by just one point in the inaugural Bridges Cup in 2022 and then cruised to a victory in 2023. In 2024, the last edition, it reached the final match, with the United States winning 17-15 at Haesley Nine Bridges in South Korea.

The Americans are 3-0 in the event, but with that winning streak comes pressure. Plus, it’s a road game.

“We should have, in theory, an advantage being on the golf links,” Holt said. “Especially the time of year we’re going to play, the weather could really play into it.”

There’s also the pressure that comes with being the final team event on the global golf calendar in 2026. Just last month, Great Britain and Ireland pulled off a stunning come-from-behind victory to beat the United States and win the Walker Cup. Europe just beat the US in the Solheim Cup last week. And the Ryder Cup? Well, you remember Bethpage Black last fall. Europe has that trophy too.

Maybe things are lining up for Holt’s International team after all.

“(The last Bridges Cup) was so exciting,” Holt said. “It came down to the final hole, and unfortunately it didn’t go our way. But this year we’re going to Turnberry, my home in Scotland, a world top-20 golf course at Trump Turnberry, and we couldn’t be more excited about this year’s event.”

Speaking of Trump Turnberry, the five-star luxury golf resort on the Firth of Clyde will host this year’s event, with matches played on the iconic Ailsa Course and even King Robert the Bruce. The Ailsa Course is 18th place The best 100 GOLF courses in the world rankingwhile Martin Ebert built the King Robert the Bruce course in 2017 (he also renovated the Ailsa in 2025).

The Ailsa Course has hosted four Open Championships – 1977, 1986, 1994 and 2009 – and has been the site of some of golf’s most famous moments, including the 1977 “Duel in the Sun” between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus. Watson was again a central figure here in 2009, when he was 59 years old and made a run to become the oldest major champion in the history of golf. (Watson held a one-shot lead on Sunday’s 18th, but bogeyed the final hole and then lost to Stewart Cink in a playoff).

Trump Turnberry has hosted other brand events – such as a Women’s British Open and several Senior Open Championships – and has also been a venue for top amateur tournaments, a detail that is important to the organizers of the Bridges Cup and the history they want to honor. Trump Turnberry hosted the 1963 Walker Cup as well as the British Amateur Championship in 1961, 1983, 1996 and 2008. The British Amateur and the American Amateur are considered the two most prestigious individual amateur events in the world.

And now 24 decorated mid-enthusiasts will also fit in there.

Australia’s Lukas Michel, the 2019 US Mid-Amateur champion who played in the Masters and US Open, is back for his second appearance after going a perfect 5-0 at the last Bridges Cup. There’s Caolan Rafferty, who represented Great Britain and Ireland at the 2019 Walker Cup and became the first golfer to win all four Irish provincial championships. And don’t forget Colm Campbell, who is a two-time champion of the Irish Amateur Open.

As for the Americans, Drew Kittleson, a 2008 US Amateur runner-up and Masters and US Open, is back again. And his debut is John Peterson, the 2011 NCAA individual champion who made 93 PGA Tour starts before recovering after his amateur status.

There is also the wrinkle that these elite mid-lovers have jobs and families. This year’s field alone has salespeople, GMs, entrepreneurs and even a golf course architect and a director of a fishing company. Players from both sides have been selected to compete based on their low handicaps, but also their previous achievements in the game, international experience, match-play credentials and more.

The competition itself is simple: 12 American players face 12 international players in three days of competitive matches (four balls, foursomes and singles) at a first-class golf club.

For now, the Bridges Cup is a friendly competition where anyone can guess which team is the favorite and which is the underdog. But come October 5 at Trump Turnberry, when the first session starts, the cold creeps in and the breeze picks up, the auction will be raised. That’s how things work in these premier team events—and the elite competitors thrive.

“Turnberry hasn’t really been featured in a long time,” Holt said. “So to take these top-level golfers in the middle of the morning, to really test them on one of the great golf courses in the world, I think it’s fair to say that this is the best golf course we’ve ever taken the event on.”

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