The 2026 Mulligan Tour Western Championship arrived at Timber Trace Golf Club in Pinckney on Saturday, August 15th, and only the top 30 money earners in the Western Division had earned the right to tee it up. What they got was a showcase of birdie golf on a par-72 layout that demanded both precision and nerve — and Mike Wassman delivered both in abundance. Eight birdies, five of them on the back nine, produced a final net 68 (-4) and the Western Championship trophy, the second individual title of Wassman’s remarkable 2026 season. The rookie who lit up Lake Forest GC in Ann Arbor for eight birdies at the Go Blue Classic has now done it again on the biggest Western Division stage of the year.
The closest thing to a rival Wassman had all day was Noah Kline, who matched him birdie for birdie through much of the round and finished with eight birdies of his own — the same number as the champion. But hole 13 told the story. A double bogey on what should have been a momentum hole opened a gap that Wassman, rolling through his back nine at -5 over the final stretch, had no intention of closing. Kline grinded back to a net 70 (-2) and earned second place for $32, a strong result in a season that has seen him consistently near the top of the leaderboard without a championship to show for it. It’s also the second consecutive year Kline has finished second at the Western Championship, having also been the runner-up in 2025 — a painful pattern for a player with his game. Corey McCue put together a quiet, efficient net 71 (-1) to claim third place and $20, with Eric Birkle, Greg Kline, and defending champion Stewart Levine all finishing in a three-way tie at net 72 (E), splitting fourth-place money at $8.67 apiece. Jeff Feikens took seventh at net 74 (+2) for $4, with Scott Wilsey eighth at net 75 (+3) for $2.
The Western Championship has been contested since 2005, and its champions list is a who’s who of Western Division greatness — Tim Markel’s four titles from 2020-2022 and again in 2024 make him the modern standard-bearer, joined by Tyler Floyd’s 2018 wire-to-wire, Kevin Gregoire’s playoff win in 2019, and Stewart Levine’s 2025 defense at Tanglewood. Wassman’s name now sits atop that list for 2026, earned in his first season on tour against a field that had to qualify to be there. Two wins. A Western Championship. A rookie year that has already exceeded everything the record books had prepared for. The Tour Championship now stands as the season’s final summit, and with it the chance to put a definitive capstone on what has been one of the most surprising and accomplished debut campaigns in Mulligan Tour history.