Seven Presidents Cup Stars Confirmed For Biltmore Championship

Justin Thomas and Corey Conners shake hands after a round at The Players Championship 2026 — (Image credit: Getty Images)

For many of the PGA Tour’s biggest stars, the end of the season coincided with the FedExCup Playoffs, which concluded with August’s Tour Championship.

There is still plenty of golf to come on the circuit in 2026, though, thanks to the FedExCup Fall.

Typically, that section of the season is significant for players yet to secure their PGA Tour cards for the following year, with the eight events offering precious FedExCup points for competitors as they attempt to finish in the top 100 of the standings.

The FedExCup Fall begins with a new event in 2026, the Biltmore Championship Asheville, which will be held at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove between September 17th and 20th.

Thanks to its place in the schedule, though, the inaugural edition of the tournament will have some real star quality, as it falls just a week before the Presidents Cup.

In fact, no fewer than seven of the 24 players in the US and Internationals line-ups will be taking part in the tournament.

Two of the US team for the biennial match at Medinah are in the field with the rest made up of Team International stars.

Justin Thomas was due to play in the Biltmore Championship but the World No.22 withdrew just days before the event begins. In his absence, Genesis Invitational champion Jacob Bridgeman and PGA Tour rookie Jackson Koivun will represent Team USA on the PGA Tour this week.

Jackson Koivun during the FedEx St. Jude Championship — Jackson Koivun is also in the field

That leaves five of the Internationals team, who will be looking for just their second-ever Presidents Cup title.

Canadians Corey Connors and Nick Taylor are confirmed for the tournament. Three-time PGA Tour-winning Colombian Nico Echavarria also plays. Japanese star Ryo Hisatsune will be teeing it up in North Carolina too, along with South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

The appearance of several Presidents Cup players at the event bears similarities with the first FedExCup Fall tournament of the 2025 season, when 10 of Keegan Bradley's US Ryder Cup team played in the Procore Championship, which was won by one of them, Scottie Scheffler.

Corey Conners during the Rocket Classic — Corey Conners is one of five Internationals in the field

Other notable players in the Biltmore Championship Asheville field include the Memorial Tournament winner, JT Poston, three-time DP World Tour winner Marco Penge and rising star Blades Brown.

Six-time PGA Tour winner Tony Finau also plays, and he will be joined by Billy Horschel, who has eight wins on the circuit.

Usually, he would opt to play on the DP World Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship, which will take place at Wentworth the same week.

However, as he explained in a video posted on social media earlier in September, he is playing in the FedExCup Fall event “due to my not so stellar play on the PGA Tour this year,” which sees him placed precariously in the standings in 100th, the final spot to guarantee a card next season.

2026 PRESIDENTS CUP PLAYERS IN BILTMORE CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD

Jacob Bridgeman (World No.29) - Team USA
Corey Conners (World No.54) - Team International
Nico Echavarria (World No.60) - Team International
Jackson Koivun (World No.65) - Team USA
Ryo Hisatsune (World No.66) - Team International
Nick Talyor (World No.81) - Team International
Christiaan Bezuidenhout (World No.97) - Team International

Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.

He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.

Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.

Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.

With contributions from

Jonny Leighfield News Writer