Jacob Bridgeman had imagined winning The Genesis Invitational: the huge crowd filling the amphitheater around the 18th green at Riviera Country Club, the awards ceremony with Tiger Woods. Almost everything came true on Sunday, except for one small detail.
“I saw myself walking down that fairway with a four-shot lead, knowing I had won,” Bridgeman said. “Unfortunately for me, the lead was only one shot, and the tension was really high.”
Bridgeman began the final round with a six-shot lead. He extended it to seven with 12 holes left. But as the margin narrowed thanks to spectacular finishes from Adam Scott (63), Kurt Kitayama (64), and finally Rory McIlroy (67), he began to lose feeling in his hands on the putter. Bridgeman held on for a final par, sinking a 3-foot putt on the 18th for a 72 (+1) and a one-shot victory over McIlroy and Kitayama, his first PGA TOUR title.
Jacob Bridgeman, statements
“This is much, much better than I ever dreamed,” said Bridgeman, the first player since 2005 (when Scott won) to debut at Riviera and walk away with the trophy.
Woods greeted him at the top of the stairs overlooking the 18th green, and as they walked toward the awards ceremony, the host told him how special it was to win at Riviera, the course he had never dominated. Everything seemed easy for Bridgeman, until it wasn't. McIlroy, in the final group, tried to apply pressure and was tied for the round after 10 holes.
“Because I wasn't putting pressure on him, he probably felt like he didn't have to do too much, but he played great,” McIlroy commented. Bridgeman finished 18 points behind without birdies in his final 15 holes. He heard constant applause for McIlroy, who never really threatened until he birdied the 12th and then doubled the final 67.
More applause echoed around Riviera: Max Greyserman with a hole-in-one on the 14th and Tommy Fleetwood with an eagle from the fairway on the 15th. Bridgeman didn't play badly: after an excellent approach to 15 feet for birdie on the third hole, he missed a chip on the fourth hole, bogeying. He then continued with birdie opportunities from about 20 feet. But he found the bunker on the 16th, saving par with a 5-foot putt to maintain the lead. Birdie chances on the 17th and 18th fell short on the greens. The final par brought a mix of joy and relief. "I thought it would be a lot easier," Bridgeman admitted. “It was honestly easy until the 16th, then it got really tough.”
Scott, who entered with a sponsor's invitation, birdied five back-nine holes to finish with a 63 and a two-shot fourth place finish. This was his best result since a T3 at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai at the end of 2024. Scottie Scheffler, who saved the cut with a 7-foot par on Friday, shot 66-65 over the weekend to finish T12, his worst finish since a T20 at THE PLAYERS almost a year ago, ending a streak of 18 consecutive top-10 finishes.
Bridgeman had already qualified for the Masters thanks to qualifying for last year's TOUR Championship. He became the first player in 2026 outside the top 50 (No. 52) to win on the PGA TOUR. The victory propels him into the top 25. He triumphed not only on a legendary course like Riviera, but with McIlroy at his side and the center of attention until he lost ground. Many putts grazed the rim, then the final one from about 30 feet fell for the grand finale.
