Jacob Bridgeman holds on to earn his first career victory in the Genesis Invitational.
MIKE MULHOLLAND, GETTY IMAGES
After all of the good work Jacob Bridgeman had done over four long days at the Genesis Invitational, he found himself standing over a par putt of 3 feet on Riviera’s 18th green to finish off his first PGA Tour victory.
It would have been a nervy moment for anyone, but Bridgeman had dominated Riviera and the tournament until the final nine holes Sunday when what had been a seven-stroke lead early in the final round had melted down to one.
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Kurt Kitayama had made a late rush at Bridgeman, shooting a Sunday 64, and Rory McIlroy had birdied his final two holes Sunday to force Bridgeman to par the famous uphill finishing hole. It seemed easy enough when Bridgeman hit his approach shot 16 feet below the hole until he left his birdie putt short.
“I thought it was going to be a lot easier than that. It was easy until I got to [No.] 16, then it got really hard. I made it about as hard as I could at the end,” said Bridgeman, a 26-year-old former Clemson standout.
After threatening to break Lanny Wadkins’ tournament scoring record of 20-under-par 264 that has lasted since 1985, Bridgeman didn’t make a birdie over his final 15 holes Sunday, but his closing 72 and 18-under 266 total earned him a trophy presentation from tournament host Tiger Woods.
“This is way better than I ever dreamt it,” said Bridgeman, who finished T8 at the previous week’s AT&T Pebble Peach Pro-Am after being near the lead throughout the weekend.
“I didn’t really feel crazy nervous until I had a [4] footer for bogey at 16. That one was sketchy. I hit a really good putt and luckily it went in. I was really nervous from there out.
“I couldn’t even feel my hands on the last couple greens. I just hit the putts hoping it would get somewhere near the hole, and both of them I left a mile short, but I’m glad it’s done now.”
“It’s hard to close out big tournaments. Even though [Bridgeman] was a little shaky coming down the stretch, he held it together when he needed to.”
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy, who holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to post a Sunday 67, lamented not putting more pressure on Bridgeman early in the round.
“It’s hard to close out big tournaments. Even though [Bridgeman] was a little shaky coming down the stretch, he held it together when he needed to,” said McIlroy, who tied for second with Kitayama, one stroke back.
“That putt on the last isn’t easy. Leaves it a little bit short and the crowd reacts and you’ve got to take your time a little bit. I give him all the props, he did what he needed to do and I’m happy for him.”
Scottie Scheffler’s streak of 18 consecutive top-10 finishes ended at Riviera – by one stroke – when he tied for 12th after a third straight slow tournament start.
Scheffler was 5-over par through 10 holes in Thursday’s windblown, rain-spattered first round and was tied for last place when play was suspended the first day. From there, however, Scheffler played more like the top-ranked player in the world, shooting 66-65 on the weekend.
“I think after Thursday I did some pretty good stuff,” Scheffler said. “I don’t really know how to elaborate on that. I think I was in dead last after Thursday, battled just to make the cut and think I had two solid dates over the weekend.”
Adam Scott, a two-time winner at Riviera, shot his second 63 of the week on Sunday to finish solo fourth, his best PGA Tour result since 2024.
“I feel really good that I almost made the most of it this week,” the 45-year-old Aussie said. “It’s not a win, which I really kind of refocused on trying to get back to the winner’s circle this year, but a result feels good because it’s been a while since I’ve just had a good result as well.”
Ron Green Jr.
