DOTHAN, Alabama—It was a long day for Jacob Bridgeman, an early wake-up call so he could tee off at 7 a.m. and finish his third round. Then came a break and an additional 18 holes, and the Clemson senior handled everything perfectly. After polishing off a third-round 65, Bridgeman fired a 5-under 67 over his final 18 holes as expected rain never materialized and he won the PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament by two shots over playing partner Bryce Hendrix. Bridgeman who will close his college career this spring and then turn pro is exempt into every 2022 PGA TOUR Canada tournament by virtue of his victory. 

Meanwhile, Hendrix will be eligible to play all Tour tournaments the first half of the schedule, along with  France’s Guillaume Fanonnel (third), Chip McDaniel (fourth), Greyson Porter (fifth), Wilson Furr and amateur Parker Coody (tied for sixth) and Steven Setterstrom and Chandler Eaton (tied for eighth). Twenty-two other players earned conditional membership. 

Jonathan Hardee and Kyle Mueller just missed getting full status for the first half of the season, tying for 10th, at 10-under. Calum Masters, Matthew Short, John Duthie and Nolan Ray were at 9-under. Of those with freshly minted playing benefits, nobody was better than Bridgeman, who admitted he accomplished what he came to Alabama to do. 

“When I talked to a bunch of people who support me, they told me the only thing I needed to do when you I got down here is try to win a golf tournament,” Bridgeman explained. “It’s like any other event, like a college event. You’re trying to win the golf tournament. If you finish top nine, great. If you win, even better. That was my mindset.”

Even better, indeed. 

Bridgeman looked back at his second-round 70 as a turning point in his week, where the wheels could have come off. “I hit it really well all week other than a few-hole stretch on the back half of the second round. I scrambled around, hit a few poor tee shots and still got it in the house.” 

He felt much the same way early Friday morning as he played five holes to finish his third round but wasn’t particularly impressed with his play.

“This morning I came out kind of groggy. I didn’t hit it too well; I didn’t feel synched up,” Bridgeman noted. “It was the same thing. I scrambled and tried to get it to the house because I knew I could reset.” The reset took place after he signed for a 65, all the damage to par coming on his first 13 holes Thursday. After playing even-par in the morning, he returned to his hotel with roommate William Nottingham, watched THE PLAYERS Championship on TV, did a quick workout and, as he said, “restarted and acted like it was a new round,” which it was.

“I came back and hit it well,” he said, despite something of a slow start on the scorecard. “I was hitting it fine, some conservative shots,” he continued. “The pins were a little more tricky today, and I felt like you had to take your 15-footers, and I didn’t start as hot, a lot of my putts just off the edge.” 

He made his first birdie of the round, a 10-footer on his fifth hole. “That got the cap off. I finally started rolling them in on the back nine.” 

After his eight-par, one-birdie beginning, he rolled in three birdies on his first five holes on his second nine, parred No. 6, birdied the seventh, survived a bogey at No. 8 and then ended the tournament making a five-footer at the par-5 finishing hole. 

Even with his second-place finish, Hendrix was smiling at his 4-under 68 that left him alone in second. “I’m glad I was able to take advantage of a good ball-striking week. Had the putter stayed hot, I might have been able to give Jacob a little more of a run,” he said.