Jacob Bridgeman wins Genesis Invitational to claim first PGA Tour title

[p]The 26-year-old American had started the day with a six-shot advantage that swelled to seven after his birdies at the first and third.[/p][p]But those were his only birdies of the day, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bridgeman-jacob/xdp19XIg/"]Bridgeman[/a] grinding his way to a one-over-par 72 at iconic Riviera Country Club for an 18-under total of 266 that left him one clear of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mcilroy-rory/djwanksN/"]Rory McIlroy[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kitayama-kurt/6VVijYoK/"]Kurt Kitayama[/a].[/p][embed guid="ff79df58-07e0-4168-9a39-e556891f375f" url="https://x.com/pgatour/status/2025712357377286369?s=61" social-type="twitter" /][p]McIlroy started six back in second and carded a four-under 67 while California's Kitayama powered up the leaderboard with a seven-under par 64.[/p][p]Aussie veteran [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/scott-adam/QkZT3jCc/"]Adam Scott[/a], winner at Riviera in 2020, had eight birdies in an eight-under 63 to finish alone in fourth on 268.[/p][p][b]"I thought it was going to be a lot easier than that,"[/b] admitted Bridgeman, who had cruised to back-to-back 64s on Friday and Saturday.[/p][p]His third bogey of the day, from a greenside bunker at the par-three 16th, saw his lead reduced to one.[/p][p][b]"I didn't really feel really crazy nervous until I had a five-footer for bogey on 16,"[/b] Bridgeman said. [b]"That one was sketchy. I hit a really good putt and luckily it went in and then I was really nervous from there on out."[/b][/p][p]Bridgeman was in a greenside bunker again at the par-five 17th, and two-putted from 21 feet for par.[/p][p]At hole 18, he put his approach at 20 feet from the pin, and after leaving that one short finally made the winning putt.[/p][p][b]"I couldn't even feel my hands on the last couple of greens, just hit the putt hoping it would get somewhere near the hole,"[/b] he said.[b] "And both of them I left a mile short - I'm glad it's done now."[/b][/p][embed guid="b98f8b27-21c1-4214-9478-eceffc31ca65" url="https://x.com/pgatour/status/2025720064482427320?s=61" social-type="twitter" /][p]McIlroy, who completed his career Grand Slam with a Masters triumph last year, had five birdies including a hole-out from a greenside bunker at the 12th.[/p][p]The Northern Ireland star, who had struggled all week to get to grips with Riviera's challenging greens, said his main reaction was to tell his caddie [b]"it saves us from putting."[/b][/p][p]McIlroy got up-and-down birdie from a bunker at 17 before he rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt from the fringe at the last.[/p][p][b]"Once I started to trust my reads a bit on the back nine and I went more with my first instinct, I putted a little bit better,"[/b] McIlroy said.[/p][embed guid="70c02d0b-4719-4ffd-b101-7c7d5a7bcdd7" url="https://x.com/golfbet/status/2025721554068287890?s=61" social-type="twitter" /][p]Kitayama, 33, chasing a third tour title, thrust himself into contention with four birdies in his first five holes, and had eight birdies on the day.[/p][p]McIlroy said he was impressed with playing partner Bridgeman's response to the late challenge.[/p][p][b]"He was making a lot of pars and then obviously at the end Kurt did what he did and Adam posted and I started to make a couple birdies," [/b]McIlroy said. [b]"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."[/b][/p][p]World number one [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/scheffler-scottie/bXfIuBYu/"]Scottie Scheffler[/a], who had to battle to make the cut without a stroke to spare, carded a six-under 65 but still saw his remarkable run of 18 straight top-10 finishes end with his tie for 12th on 11-under.[/p]