Matti Schmid (-17), ranked among the top 70 in the FedEx Cup with four top-10 finishes this season (including a second place at the Charles Schwab Challenge last May), and with playing rights guaranteed for the next season, found himself in Mexico this Friday with a golden opportunity to claim his first victory on the PGA Tour. After his remarkable start to the tournament at the World Wide Technology Championship, with a round of 64 on Thursday, he posted the best score of the day today to take the solo lead in the standings.
With a superb card of 63 strokes, featuring seven birdies and an eagle, without any mistakes, the 27-year-old German golfer, enjoying his third consecutive season on the tour, climbed two positions to surpass Nick Dunlap (-16) and Sami Valimaki (-16), co-leaders after the first 18 holes, and head into the weekend at El Cardonal at Diamante in Los Cabos poised to not only fight for what would be his first victory on the tour but also to make the most of the autumn schedule of the FedEx Cup by getting into the 51st to 60th positions to earn a spot in the first two designated events of 2026.
“That’s my big goal for the autumn season. We all know how big and important those two events are and the extra points that can be earned in them. Plus, I want to play on the best courses and with the best players. I know I need to have a good week to achieve it, but I hope this is mine,” he acknowledged after his round regarding the possibility not only of winning on Sunday but above all of earning a spot in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational, the first two major events of next year.
Of the four tournaments played to date in the FedEx Fall, the German played two, the Sanderson Farms, where he achieved a tied 14th place, and the Baycurrent Classic, where he made the cut but could only finish tied 46th. After that event, he decided to stay a few days with his girlfriend in Japan. Upon his return, he claimed he felt “exhausted and a bit sick.” But resting for a couple of weeks did wonders for him to refresh physically and mentally before trying his luck in Mexico, where he found this double opportunity to win and sneak into two elevated events.
It won’t be easy to stay at the top until Sunday because on a course where such low scores can be achieved, any minor mistake is heavily penalised. Just ask Dunlap, who, as the solo leader, teed off on the 7th hole, his third-to-last of the day, and ended up losing the top spot and falling one stroke behind Matti after hitting his ball out of bounds. His only mistake so far this week, a double bogey that cost him the lead. Even so, both Schmid and Dunlap have an advantage over their immediate pursuers…
No matter what happens in Mexico and in the last two tournaments of the season, both have secured playing rights for 2026, so they will play with much less pressure. Something that neither Valimaki, nor Chad Ramey (-15), nor the Frenchman Victor Perez (-14), tied for fifth with the American Ben Griffin (-14), who has no issues within the top 50 of the FedEx, can say. Tomorrow’s ‘moving day’ will start to clear the picture except for players like Mark Hubbard (-4), Brandt Snedeker (-4), Patrick Fishburn (-4), Henrik Norlander (-3), Luke Donald (-3), or Jesper Svensson (+8), who have missed a cut set at five under par.
