The first is always the hardest, and in his 243rd start, Adam Schenk can finally say that the hard part is over as he is officially a winner on the PGA Tour. Outlasting and outmaneuvering the field at a blustery Port Royal Golf Course, Schenk claimed the 2025 Bermuda Championship by one stroke over Chandler Phillips at 12 under.
Schenk was forced to make a 5-foot par putt on the final hole to fend off Phillips and become the 16th first-time winner on the PGA Tour in 2025. Amid a week where he was striking some putts with one hand and backing off due to discomfort over his golf ball, Schenk summoned the fortitude to fight through the demons and into a new class.
With his maiden victory, Schenk secures his playing privileges on the PGA Tour for the next two seasons. The 33-year-old entered the week at No. 134 in the FedEx Cup standings and in major jeopardy of losing his full-time status. He had missed 15 cuts this season, including eight in his last 14 starts, and was without a top-20 result since The CJ CUP Byron Nelson back in May.
Instead, he will not only find himself in full-field events in 2026 but also tournaments such as the Players Championship, PGA Championship and RBC Heritage. He moves up to No. 67 in the FedEx Cup standings and could find his way into the first two signature events should he climb inside the top 60 by the end of next week’s season finale at the RSM Classic.
“I started to play some better golf the last four months,” Schenk said. “I always had a little bit of the belief. I’ve really been working really hard. I have so many people to thank. I wish my family could be here. Of course, I win out of the country and my wife can’t be here.”
Nothing was easy about Schenk’s Sunday stroll in Bermuda, as tee times were moved up due to weather conditions. Forced to deal with wind gusts up to 40 mph, players struggled to flight proper golf shots and withstand what Mother Nature had planned.
Not Schenk, however, who started his day in relatively mundane fashion by making one birdie and eight pars across his front nine. While scoring chances were rare, the overnight leader did well to keep himself out in front and avoid any mistakes that would prove costly.
Up ahead on the golf course, Alex Smalley and others made charges to apply pressure on the leader. Smalley got as deep as 11 under but needed three putts from approximately 15 feet on the last and dropped to 10 under for the tournament. Meanwhile, Frankie Capan III reached that same 12-under number before dropping shots on the par-3 16th and par-5 17th to settle for a tie for third.
Schenk had opportunities to make things more comfortable down the stretch, but his putter had other ideas. Playing the par-5 17th to perfection thanks to a couple of stingers that barely got off the ground, Schenk missed a close-range birdie look that would have given him a two-stroke lead up the 72nd hole.
When Phillips made par and Schenk’s playing partner, Takumi Kanaya, missed the 18th green in regulation, he knew all he needed was one last par to break through. However, as fate would have it, it would not be without one last 5-foot tickler, and unlike the previous hole, Schenk stepped up and stroked beauty, exorcising his demons and becoming a PGA Tour winner all in one fell swoop.
“I knew I could win; it was just a matter of executing each shot and handling each situation I put myself in,” Schenk said. “I can’t believe it’s over. It seemed like the longest day ever.”