PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — After hanging around on the porch for much of the past year, Jacob Bridgeman stormed through the front door Sunday, earning his first career PGA Tour victory by holding on for a one-shot win in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club.
Bridgeman played it safe, shooting 1-over-par 72 in the final round to finish 18-under 266 at the finale of the season-opening West Coast Swing. After holding a seven-shot lead at one point early in his final round, he needed a 3-foot putt at 18 to make the win official.
“This morning I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing to let myself think about winning, but I did and I thought it would be a lot easier than it was,” said Bridgeman, 26. “I kind of had everything under control, especially to start the day, and I felt great throughout the day. Then some guys started making a little run. … Yeah, it got a lot tighter than I wanted it to.”
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (4-under 67) closed with birdies on the final two holes to finish tied for second with Kurt Kitayama (64) at 17 under, while Australia’s Adam Scott (63) finished fourth at 16 under. Scott, the tournament winner in 2005 and 2020 who entered on a sponsor’s exemption, had two rounds of 8-under 63.
South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter (68) was alone in fifth at 15 under and Jake Knapp (66) was sixth at 13 under.
During an emotional week, as the tournament returned to the Los Angeles-area neighborhood that was devastated by a wildfire last January, Bridgeman fought back tears on the 18th green when his breakthrough was complete.
“I’ve seen so many guys walking up 18 with the crowd kind of behind you, the amphitheater surrounding the green is such a cool moment,” Bridgeman said. “I pictured myself walking up that hole with a four-shot lead and knowing that I’d won, but unfortunately it was only a one-shot lead and it became a lot more nervous. So I kept my head down, didn’t really look up until the end.”
Content to play it safe after starting the day with a six-shot lead, Bridgeman was even par through 15 holes after two birdies and two bogeys. His bogey at No. 16, dropped him to 18 under and allowed Kitayama to pull within a stroke.
Nine strokes back at the start of the day, Kitayama’s charge included four birdies over his first five holes of the final round. He had four more birdies on the back nine to deliver his first top-five finish since winning the 3M Open in July 2025.
“Had a dream start to the day,” Kitayama said. “Didn’t really go into it thinking I had a chance, just kind of plugged along, and coming down the stretch figured if I could make some birdies, add a little pressure, but overall, great day.”
It was almost one year to the date when Bridgeman started to show that his first trophy was near. He was runner-up at Cognizant Classic last February and delivered four top-five finishes in just over four months.
The run continued this season with a fourth-place finish at the Sony Open at Hawaii and a tie for eighth at Pebble Beach last week. After never holding an overnight lead since joining the PGA Tour, Bridgeman was in the top spot all four days this weekend, including a tie for first after each of the first two rounds.
Playing in the final round with McIlroy, Bridgeman held his own against the world’s No. 2 player. McIlroy was merely even par on the front nine, before collecting four birdies after the turn. McIlroy made it interesting with a long birdie putt from the fringe at the final hole.
“I holed some putts on the back nine, which is nice, but I’ll rue basically all 18 holes (Saturday) and then the front nine today, like 27 holes where I failed to capitalize on the chances I gave myself,” McIlroy said. “But overall, a really positive week.”
Bridgeman, a South Carolina native and Clemson alumnus, who reached 21-under par early in his round, finished off the victory with a pars at 17 and 18.
An infrequent visitor to the West Coast until joining the PGA Tour, Bridgeman not only earned a hefty payday, he did it while playing on the legendary Riviera layout for the first time.
For the third consecutive week, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (65) turned a poor start into a solid finish. He finished 11 under for the weekend and in a tie for 12th after scrambling to make the cut on the number.
“I think after Thursday I did some pretty good stuff,” Scheffler said. “… I think I was in dead last after Thursday, battled just to make the cut and think I had two solid (rounds) over the weekend.”
Collin Morikawa (65), who ended a victory drought of over two years last week at Pebble Beach, was in a group of five, along with Tommy Fleetwood and Xander Schauffele, that finished tied for seventh place at 12 under.
In the middle of a rough round, Max Greyserman had a hole-in-one at No. 14 after he was 4 over on the day to that point. He finished in a tie for 24th place at 7 under.
–Doug Padilla, Field Level Media
