Max Greyserman returned from a five-week break and looked as good as he has all year
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Max Greyserman found himself in a peculiar spot, away from golf for five weeks and suddenly fighting to keep his full PGA Tour card. He responded Thursday with a 7-under 64 to share the lead with Eric Cole in the inaugural Biltmore Championship Asheville.
Greyserman got up-and-down for par on his sixth hole at The Cliff at Walnut Grove by stuffing a wedge to 2 feet, and he followed by running off four straight birdies on a rain-softened course that allowed for good scoring.
Cole, making his 131st career start on the PGA Tour and still searching for his first win, had the lead after a birdie on the par-5 eighth. But he closed out his round by finding trouble off the tee and having to punch out, ultimately missing a 20-foot par putt.
The field included seven players who will be competing in the Presidents Cup next week — five of them on the International side. Jacob Bridgeman, who makes his debut at Medinah for the U.S. team, had a 66. Nick Taylor of Canada had the leading score among Internationals at 67,
The Biltmore Championship Asheville is the tour's first stop amid the Blue Ridge Mountains since Ben Hogan won in 1942. It's also the first of eight tournaments in the FedEx Cup Fall that determine the top 100 who retain full status for 2027.
That hasn't been a problem for Greyserman the last two years. The 31-year-old from New Jersey has been eligible for the last eight majors, and he has played in 12 of the $20 million signature events dating to 2025.
But he has one top 10 this year — a tie for ninth, 11 shots behind at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson — and is starts the fall series at No. 103 in the FedEx Cup. He has dropped from No. 32 in the world to start the year to No. 90.
This is his first tournament since the Wyndham Championship five weeks ago. He took off two weeks to spend time with his 8-month-old son. He headed to New Jersey for a week of a little practice, and then was gone two more weeks on a vacation to Italy.
“Maybe that’s key," Greyserman said. “Don’t practice and just have a good time and just show up here.”
There's also the matter of a new course no one had really seen. With heavy rain and high temperatures around the Blue Ridge Mountains that caused agronomy issues, tour officials decided there would be lift, clean and place for all four rounds.
“I guess it’s maybe more freeing when you play a course for the first time because you don’t have any bad memories to pull up,” Greyserman said. “You just have no memories, so it’s nice and fresh. I think that’s good.”
Cole finished at No. 49 in the FedEx Cup, so he's locked into all the signature events for next year. He also loves to play golf — he has averaged 34 tournament the last three seasons — and can't think of a better place to be.
There's also the matter of trying to win. Because of a transition season in 2027 for the big PGA Tour overhaul, any winner from the eight FedEx Cup Fall events are assured of being in the Championship Series level when the new schedule begins in 2028.
“I just like to play a lot of golf. I enjoy competing,” Cole said. “I worked a lot, really hard and a lot of years to get to the PGA Tour, so any chance I have to play and compete out here is something that means a lot to me, something I don’t take for granted.”
___
