No ha resonado (yet) for the Ryder Cup. He hasn’t made headlines (yet) for his performances on the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour. He hasn’t played the Masters (yet). Nor the PGA Championship (yet). He hasn’t played any Major (yet) as a professional. However, quietly, always under the radar, the German Matti Schmid (-11) is making his way. He doesn’t make noise, but he does make progress. Today, Friday, he has ticked off one of those ‘yets’. He can now say he has been the leader of one of the most legendary regular tournaments on the PGA Tour after 36 holes. He delivered a card of 63 strokes at the mythical Colonial Country Club and ties for the lead with Ben Griffin.
If one relies solely on memory, on what has reached them more or less from here and there. On what one day they read in passing in a headline or what a friend told them at the bar, it’s likely they think Schmid’s career is discreet or mediocre (yet). However, if one takes the trouble to delve into his numbers, it turns out what he’s doing is no small feat. To begin with, he’s achieving something within reach of very few. He’s been maintaining his card on both sides of the Atlantic for two years. Without much fanfare, perhaps, but as reliable as a German vehicle.
Let’s remember a few things. Schmid earned his DP World Tour card in 2021 by playing just a handful of tournaments, shortly after turning professional that same year. The following year he retained his rights and in another handful of tournaments, this time on the Korn Ferry Tour at the end of the season, he secured the PGA Tour card. In 2023 he maintained both cards and repeated in 2024, although on the European circuit he has a conditional category, for those who just missed out on the top 115 of the Race to Dubai. He hasn’t exploded, but he’s making progress.
That said, curiously, Schmid, as if he were the stereotype of a Spanish student, has always managed to get his homework done at the end, just in time. In 2021 he had no choice because he could only play a few tournaments at the end, after turning pro, in 2022 he did the same in the final tournaments of the Korn Ferry Tour, in 2023 he again saved both cards in the last tournaments and in 2024 more of the same, securing his rights on the PGA Tour in the autumn events. Always with his back against the wall.
It seems he has grown tired of leaving everything to the last day, or perhaps he is simply following his own natural evolution, gradually eliminating those ‘yets’. Schmid hasn’t won on the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour (yet), but he does have a good number of important results. He has made top 10 in the Black Desert, Shriners, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, or Barbasol. Always in second-tier tournaments. His best result in one of the big PGA Tour tournaments was a sixth at the American Express over two years ago. It’s about time he breaks out of his shell. Who knows if it will be this week. He has certainly worked hard to improve and has done so mainly in his approach shots, an essential requirement at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He leaves himself more birdie opportunities.
His round of 63 strokes this afternoon at Colonial is of enormous value. In the afternoon the greens were very hard and the wind blew generously. He made seven birdies without a bogey, brilliant with the irons and majestic around the green, successfully completing the six recoveries he had to face. He ties for the lead with Ben Griffin and will go out this Saturday in the featured group. They have a two-stroke lead over John Pak, three over Gotterup, and four over Ryo Hisatsune and Akshay Bhatia. On Sunday night we will know if Schmid continues to shed the ‘yets’ from his service record.
