“I thought it would be a lot easier than it was,” Jacob Bridgeman said after securing his first PGA Tour victory.
The 26-year-old South Carolina native closed out Sunday at Riviera Country Club at 18-under par, one stroke ahead of Rory McIlroy and Kurt Kitayama, to earn the biggest win of his career at the Genesis Invitational.
Bridgeman led or shared the lead after every round at Riviera. After starting Sunday six shots ahead and tying the 54-hole tournament scoring record at 19 under, he ended up winning by just one.
He briefly pushed past the record early in the final round before a pair of bogeys opened the door for the rest of the field.
McIlroy and Kitayama made late birdie runs to apply pressure down the stretch. Kitayama shot 7-under 64, and McIlroy chipped in from a bunker on the back nine as the margin tightened to a single stroke.
Despite a few bogeys, Bridgeman stayed steady and closed with pars on his final two holes.
“I was very comfortable with a full shot. I felt like I was just kind of in robot mode and autopilot,” Bridgeman said about his approach to the final holes.
He added that when he needed feel late, it was harder to find. “On 17 and 18, I had no idea how hard to hit those putts. I just somehow got it three feet short of the hole.”
On the 16th, Bridgeman played safely from a bunker after a tricky lie, following caddie G.W. Cable’s direction: “You’ve got to go right, got to hit it right.”
He two-putted for bogey and limited the damage. On 17, another conservative recovery left him with a makeable putt.
On the 18th green, Bridgeman’s birdie try came up short, leaving a three-footer for the title.
“I thought it was dead straight and I hit it not near hard enough, but it was still rolling dead straight,” he said. “The three-footer was nothing different. Just hit the ball somewhere in the hole and hope it falls.”
Bridgeman described that at the end of the round, he could not feel his hands, something he said he had heard other players talk about but never experienced until Sunday.
He shared that he was nervous that morning and let himself imagine walking up 18 with the lead, though in reality “I kept my head down [and] didn’t really look up until the end,” he said.
The win is Bridgeman’s first on the PGA Tour in his 66th start. He is the first first-time winner at Riviera since James Hahn in 2015. The victory earns him 700 FedExCup points, full playing privileges for the next two seasons and the $4 million winner’s share of the $20 million purse.
This weekend also marked the 100th anniversary of the tournament.
After being displaced to San Diego in 2025 due to devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, the tournament returned to Riviera this week with added significance.
Then there was the host of the Genesis Invitational, Tiger Woods.
When asked what Woods said to him after the round, Bridgeman smiled and said Woods told him, “You’ve got one on me.” Bridgeman added, “So I guess he’s never won yet. I got one thing. He’s got all the other ones, but I got one.”
It was a surreal moment for someone who grew up watching Woods in his prime.
“He’s the best player of all time by far,” Bridgeman said.
McIlroy, who finished one shot back in search of his 30th career PGA Tour title, praised Bridgeman’s composure and finish.
“I thought Jacob did really well to hang on and play the way he did coming down the stretch,” McIlroy said.
Kitayama, who surged with a late 64, said he “played awesome” and tried to “add a little pressure” for the finish. Adam Scott was also close behind, finishing with a 63 to move into the top five.
The victory gives Bridgeman momentum heading into the next stretch of the PGA Tour season, including his first Masters appearance this April.
“That’s the golf tournament that every golfer growing up wants to win, wants to play in, wants to compete in,” Bridgeman said of the Masters. “I know that one will be a little bit more mental and physically taxing on me, but I’m very excited for it.”