Unfinished business.
New suspects.

Last year ended 3–3. This year brings two singles rematches, a dangerous returning Michigan partnership, three players with no recorded platform form, and an unusual diplomatic development: Scott Frederick and Matt Safran will be rooting for each other.

Six points are available: two front-nine fourballs and four back-nine singles. Michigan has three players with competitive platform history and one newcomer; Michigan State has two and two. That gives Michigan more known quantities, but nine-hole matches leave plenty of room for a new face to ruin somebody’s carefully researched narrative.

Preview prepared October 8, 2026, from the current match card. No Sunday scores were recorded at publication.

The actual match card

The field, by the numbers

Records count final competitive matches through October 3, including friendlies. Fourball wins are shared match results. October 3’s event and matches are now final. The April dry run is included in the expanded rivalry below; the competitive records above retain their competitive-only scope.

Six matches, six stories

1 · Ray / Frederick vs. Skrzypek / Lagodzinski — The veterans meet the variables

Scott arrives with three consecutive recorded singles wins and gross rounds of 84, 84, 83 across September 20, September 24, and October 3. His latest 83 contained no double bogeys or worse. That is an encouraging picture of control, even allowing for different courses.

Bill brings a better competitive fourball record, 2–1–1 to Scott’s 1–3–1, and a strong latest outing: 46–45 for 91 at Lakes of Taylor, winning both matches. Each side has an 11-handicap newcomer, Jeff or Jim. In best ball, a newcomer can produce one good net hole and make a veteran’s entire paragraph irrelevant. Read: Scott’s recent individual form is encouraging; the partnership result has too many unknowns for a confident favorite.

2 · Safran / Rutkowski vs. Ahn / Addy — Chemistry meets the fourball specialist

Nick and Matt lost together in the 2025 Classic but won together at The Orchards in May, finishing four holes ahead in the platform’s full-nine tally. Nick’s gross 48 that morning did not prevent the partnership winning: a useful reminder that fourball rewards complementary good holes.

Nick’s later scoring is much sharper: 40–40 for 80 at Rattle Run, followed by 40–41 for 81 at Lakes of Taylor. Matt supplies experience but comes off gross rounds of 90 and 95 in his latest two recorded appearances. Across the fairway, Mark is 5–0 in competitive fourballs, winning with Justin, Bill, Nick, and Matt. He now gets a fifth partner in Chris. Read: Michigan has demonstrated partnership chemistry; Michigan State has the field’s strongest fourball résumé. This is the best opening-session story.

3 · Ray vs. Lagodzinski — No footage, no fear

Jeff and Jim each have a locked nine-hole handicap of 11, with no earlier match or score history in the snapshot. “New to the platform” does not establish that either is new to golf. There is no evidence for a form-based favorite. Their morning fourball will be our first meaningful look at how they score and respond to pressure.

Watch: who avoids the big number when they lose their partner’s safety net. Equal handicaps make this the cleanest direct comparison on the singles card.

4 · Frederick vs. Skrzypek — The rubber match

Scott beat Bill in last year’s Classic; Bill answered in July’s Sturtz Cup. Scott’s 2025 back nine was 41 to Bill’s 46, and he finished two holes ahead. In July, Bill won despite shooting 48 to Scott’s 46, finishing one hole ahead on net scoring. Bill’s historical handicap was 8 to Scott’s 6 that day.

Sunday’s locked handicaps are Bill 9, Scott 6. Under the platform’s back-nine allocation, Bill receives an extra stroke relative to Scott on 12, 14, and 18. Bill has won all three of his Sturtz Cup singles: Ryan in May, Scott in July, David in August. Scott has fresher recorded form. Read: Scott’s scoring trend meets Bill’s match-winning trend. This has more substance than a simple “lower gross score wins” preview.

5 · Rutkowski vs. Ahn — The known quantity and the plot twist

Nick is 5–1 across his six Sturtz Cup matches, with three fourball wins and two singles wins. His last four recorded nines read 40, 40, 40, 41. Last year he salvaged a singles half against Justin by winning holes 17 and 18 after being two down through 16.

Chris has no recorded performance history, so his locked handicap of 7 is our only numerical guide. Nick’s is 5; Chris gets two extra strokes relative to Nick on 13 and 18. Read: Nick has the strongest recent scoring evidence among the returning players with comparable nine-hole samples, but Chris’s actual form is unknown. An extra stroke on the final hole makes late suspense entirely plausible.

6 · Safran vs. Addy — Same rivalry, different temperature

Last year, Matt beat Mark in Classic singles, ending one hole ahead. They were square through 16; Matt won 17 and halved 18. Their gross back-nine scores were 43 and 49, respectively. Mark had already helped beat Matt and Nick in the morning, so the day delivered one point apiece and enough unfinished business for a sequel.

Recent form favors Mark’s direction: 86 at Lakes of Taylor, 91 at Boulder Pointe, 87 at Glacier Club. Matt’s recent full rounds are 86, 90, 95. Mark’s October 3 match is recorded as a win over Mark MattsCousin. However, Mark’s perfect fourball history does not carry directly into singles: his competitive singles record is 3–3–1.

Mark’s locked handicap is now 9, versus 11 in last year’s Classic; Matt stays at 6. Mark receives extra strokes relative to Matt on 12, 14, and 18 this Sunday. Read: Mark has the more encouraging latest evidence; Matt has the exact-event head-to-head win. It is the most compelling singles rematch on the card.

What last year actually left behind

The 2025 Classic at Greystone ended Michigan 3, Michigan State 3. State led 1½–½ after fourball; Michigan won the singles session 2½–1½ to level the event.

Five of last year’s eight players return. Jeff, Jim, and Chris replace Ryan Frederick, Mike Sturtz, and Justin Gildenpfennig. Ryan’s absence removes a proven 1½-point contributor for State. Two halves and the late recoveries also show how narrow the margin was: one converted half would have changed the final score.

The Sturtz Cup subplot: teammates become opponents

Four of this Sunday’s returning players—Bill, Mark, Nick, and Matt—played for Big White Balls in the three official Sturtz Cup events. Their team swept May 6–0 at The Orchards, split July 3–3, and won August 5–1. Sunday splits that familiar group evenly across the school colors.

Across those six official matches per player, Bill and Nick each went 5–1; Mark went 4–1–1; Matt went 3–2–1. Scott, on The Provisionals, went 1–4–1. The series also contains two friendlies: at Heather, Scott shot 79 but split his two matches; at Boulder Pointe, his 84 beat Mark’s 91 by one hole on net scoring. Those outings add useful form without counting as official Sturtz Cup events.

Frederick / Safran: eleven outings, one temporary ceasefire

The expanded 2026 rivalry stands at Scott Frederick 6, Matt Safran 5. We replayed one individual net match per outing, including the platform dry run and all 18 holes at Rattle Run—even when the formal card paired them with different opponents.

Replays use recorded net scores and historical event handicap allocations. “Match finish” stops at the earliest decisive hole; “All holes” continues through the complete scorecard. *Cracklewood and Rattle Run include all 18 as requested: shared front-nine matches are confirmed, while back-nine grouping is inferred from the pairing cards. Six later outings have explicit shared-group records; the other three early outings have shared-match evidence. This is a retrospective rivalry ledger, separate from official match results.

The rehearsal counts: Cracklewood

Both shot 88 on April 26. Matt’s locked 18-hole handicap was 16 to Scott’s 12, producing recorded net totals of 72 and 76. Matt would have closed 4 & 3 on hole 15 and finished three holes ahead over all 18. The software was rehearsing; the reconstructed rivalry point goes to Matt.

Rattle Run: the comeback that nearly landed

Scott shot 41–46 for 87; Matt shot 46–44 for 90. Both played off 6 per nine / 12 for 18. Scott was three up at the turn and four up through 12. Matt won 15, 16, and 17 consecutively to get square. Scott then made 4 against Matt’s 5 on 18, winning the reconstructed match 1 UP. Extending the replay from nine holes to 18 reveals a much better story.

The official card missed one: Lakes of Taylor

On August 30 they shared Group 2 all day, but their formal singles opponents were Mark Addy and Ryan Frederick. Their individual replay gives Matt 2 & 1, with eleven holes halved. Matt’s birdie 2 on the par-3 17th beat Scott’s 3 to close it; Scott won 18 afterward. Matt shot 86, Scott 87. The full-card tally ends Matt 1 UP.

The season arc: Matt strikes first, Scott answers last

Matt took the first two outings at Cracklewood and The Orchards. Scott won the next three at Heather, Richmond, and Rattle Run to lead 3–2. Matt answered at Sycamore; Scott’s 79 at the August Heather friendly restored his lead. Matt won Lakes of Taylor and Lakeview to move ahead 5–4. Scott took the last two at Solitude and Glacier to finish ahead 6–5.

Lakeview is the match-play exhibit A: both shot 86, yet Matt would have won 5 & 4. Solitude was Scott’s late rescue: square through 16, he won 17 and 18. Glacier was the emphatic follow-up: Scott’s 83 against Matt’s 95 would have closed 7 & 5, ending nine holes ahead across all 18.

The narrower official history remains Scott 4–2 in the dedicated rivalry series, and 5–3 across their recorded competitive singles meetings, including Sturtz Cup. The expanded 6–5 counts one outing at a time, includes the rehearsal, and reconstructs additional individual matches.

On Sunday, both wear Michigan colors. Scott’s recent stability and Matt’s late-hole pedigree now need to produce points for the same team. Who is allowed to mention Glacier in the cart remains unresolved.

What to watch—and what the data cannot tell us

Prepared October 8, 2026, using WGD platform match records, playing groups, event handicap snapshots, and hole scores. Rivalry replays are retrospective individual comparisons; group assumptions are noted above.