Central Plains FFA Chapter

02/22 19:33 CST Jacob Bridgeman holds on at Riviera for first PGA Tour title Jacob Bridgeman holds on at Riviera for first PGA Tour title By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Jacob Bridgeman allowed himself to imagine winning the Genesis Invitational, the massive crowd filling the amphitheater around the 18th green at Riviera, the trophy presentation with Tiger Woods. Almost all of it came true Sunday except for one small detail. "I pictured myself walking up that hole with a four-shot lead knowing that I'd won," Bridgeman said. "Unfortunately for me, it was only a one-shot lead and it became a lot more nervous." Bridgeman started with a six-shot lead. He stretched it to seven with 12 holes to play. And as the lead began to shrink with superb finishes by Adam Scott (63), Kurt Kitayama (64) and finally Rory McIlroy (67), he lost feeling in his hands on the putter. Bridgeman pulled it together with one last par, making a nervy 3-footer on the 18th for a 1-over 72 and a one-shot victory over McIlroy and Kitayama for his first PGA Tour title. "This is way, way better than I've ever dreamt it," said Bridgeman, the first player since Scott in 2005 to play Riviera for the first time and leave with the trophy. Woods met him atop the steps overlooking the 18th green, and as they walked toward the trophy presentation, Bridgeman said the tournament host told him how cool it was to win at Riviera, the one place Woods could never master. "He said, ?You've got one on me.' So I guess he's never won yet," Bridgeman said. "I got one thing. He's got all the other ones." It all felt so easy for Bridgeman until it wasn't. McIlroy needed to apply pressure in the final group and was even par for the round through 10 holes. "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," McIlroy 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." Bridgeman finished at 18-under 266 and didn't make a birdie over the final 15 holes. He heard constant cheers for McIlroy, one of golf's most popular figures who was never a threat until he holed a bunker shot for birdie on the 12th and finished birdie-birdie for a 67. More cheers rang out across Riviera --- Max Greyserman with a hole-in-one on the 14th, Tommy Fleetwood jarring one for eagle from the fairway on the 15th, and Kitayama stuffing his tee shot on the par-3 16th and then barely clearing the bunker to set up a two-putt birdie on the par-5 17th. Bridgeman, after a marvelous approach to 12 feet for birdie on the third hole that received only a smattering of applause from the LA crowd, didn't play poorly. He hit a strong chip on the fourth that led to bogey. The rest of the way was a steady diet of 20-foot birdie chances. But he found the bunker on the 16th and had to make a 5-foot bogey putt to stay in the lead. His birdie chances on the 17th and 18th were woefully short on greens where short putts can be scary. The last par putt brought a mixture of joy and relief. "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." Scott, who received a sponsor exemption, ran off five birdies on the back nine and closed with a 63 to finish fourth, two shots behind. It was his best finish since a tie for third in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai at the end of 2024. "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." Scottie Scheffler, who had to make a 7-foot par putt on Friday to make the cut, had a 66-65 weekend and wound up tied for 12th, his worst finish since he tied for 20th at The Players Championship nearly a year ago. He ended his streak of 18 consecutive top 10s. Bridgeman already is in the Masters from having reached the Tour Championship last year. He became the first player this year to be ranked outside the top 50 (No. 52) and win on the PGA Tour. The victory propels him inside the top 25. He won not only at a storied course like Riviera but with McIlroy, the Masters champion, alongside and getting most of the attention until falling off the pace. So many putts burned the edge, and then the last one dropped from 30 feet leading to his big finish. For a second, it looked like it might give McIlroy extra holes in a playoff when Bridgeman left his first putt short. But just like he has all week, Bridgeman never looked uncomfortable. Turns out he felt that way. "I couldn't even feel my hands on the last couple greens," Bridgeman said. "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." ___ AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf