Jacob Bridgeman captured his first PGA Tour title at the Genesis Invitational, closing out a tense Sunday at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles to win by one shot. The 26-year-old finished 18-under for the week and earned $4 million from the $20 million signature event hosted by Tiger Woods. The final moments were far from simple. Rory McIlroy poured in a long birdie putt on the 18th from the fringe, cutting the lead to one and turning up the pressure. Bridgeman still had to finish the job. His first putt stopped three feet and five inches short, leaving a testing return that would decide everything. He steadied himself and knocked it in.
How Jacob Bridgeman handled pressure and shared a trophy moment with golf’s biggest name
The victory came after he began the final round with a six-shot advantage. That cushion slowly shrank as the day unfolded. His closing one-over 72 was enough, but he admitted it felt different from the earlier rounds when putts were dropping more easily. “I felt like I was playing the same way I’ve been playing all week. For whatever reason today, the putts, they were bumping out and I wasn’t making the ones I was the last few days,” he said, adding, “Not having that early start of being four, five, six under par was a little bit different and new. And it got really hard at the end. I was thinking ‘man, this lead is getting close’. I wanted to be leading by four going into the last hole and I was up on the last tee leading by one. It got really hard. ”
Once the final putt dropped, Bridgeman’s focus shifted to the moment waiting beside the green. Tiger Woods, host of the tournament, stood ready with the trophy. For a young player who grew up watching Woods dominate the sport, it was special. “I think getting the trophy from Tiger is going to be the coolest thing in my life,” he said, adding, “I know he’s made a million of those little three-footers, but that was my first one.
I’m going to need some tips to make those easier because that was hard. ”
McIlroy and Kurt Kitayama finished one shot behind, while Adam Scott’s bogey-free 63 moved him to within two. McIlroy later joked about his late birdie. “It probably earned me an extra 400, 500 grand so it’s fine,” he said.
For Bridgeman, the week also erased memories of a costly slip at Pebble Beach seven days earlier. This time, there was no stumble. There was control, composure and a handshake with Tiger Woods that marked the start of a new chapter.
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