The last time Jacob Bridgeman won a PGA Tour tournament was in April 2022 at the ACC Championship. Now, he’s won the Genesis Invitational. In a field that included Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, and a lot of the best golfers in the world, Bridgeman took the trophy.
Jacob Bridgeman wins Genesis Invitational
Jacob Bridgeman kept the field at arm’s length for much of the weekend at the Genesis. However, as the fourth round went on, Bridgeman watched his lead slowly dwindle, and it made for a much more stressful finish thant he’d expected.
“I pictured myself walking up that hole with a four-shot lead knowing that I’d won,” Bridgeman joked via ESPN. “Unfortunately for me, it was only a one-shot lead and it became a lot more nervous.”
Bridgeman made one final par on the 18th hole with a nervous last three-foot putt. That kept him at 72 for the fourth round, one ahead of the closest challengers. “This is way, way better than I’ve ever dreamt it,” said Bridgeman. He became the first player since Adam Scott over two decades ago to win a trophy in his first-ever outing at Riviera.
“I thought it was going to be a lot easier,” Bridgeman said. “It was honestly easy until I got to 16 and then it got really hard. I made it as hard as I could have made it.” The golfer went his final 15 holes without making a birdie as he watched his lead evaporate before holding on for a clutch win.
“I couldn’t even feel my hands on the last couple greens,” the golfer added. “I just hit the putt 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.”
Winning at Riviera is something not even Tiger Woods has done. When Woods, the tournament host, gave Bridgeman the trophy, he alluded to that fact. “He said, ‘You’ve got one on me.’ So I guess he’s never won yet,” Bridgeman revealed. “I got one thing. He’s got all the other ones.”
Near-winners talk about Genesis loss
Kurt Kitayama and Rory McIlroy could only watch as Jacob Bridgeman’s final putt sealed their fates. They were tied for second, so if he’d missed and had a bogey, they would have entered a three-way playoff. Adam Scott was one stroke back in fourth.
McIlroy trailed by a lot but nearly made the comeback. Had Bridgeman missed that final putt, he would have at least had a shot at the win. “Because I wasn’t putting pressure on him it probably felt to him like he didn’t need to do that much, but he played very well,” the Irishman said. “But it’s hard to close out big tournaments. Even though he was a little shaky coming down the stretch, he held it together when he needed to.”
Scott had a good outing, even if he was out of it by the time the final putt occurred. “I feel really good that I almost made the most of it this week,” Scott 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.”
Bridgeman flirted with victory last time out at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He floundered a bit, but he still finished T8 by shooting 18 under par. He was four strokes back of Collin Morikawa, whom he got the best of this weekend. Bridgeman was able to move forward from a tough loss and earn the win at Riviera, though.
Related Posts
