Jacob Bridgeman secured his first PGA Tour victory at the 2026 Genesis Invitational after entering the final round with a six-shot lead over Rory McIlroy, with the two playing together in the final pairing on Sunday.

Reflecting on the round and how Bridgeman handled the closing stretch, the career grand slam winner said in his post-round interview: 

“Even though he was a little shaky coming down the stretch, he held it together when he needed to. ’

On February 22 the American closed at 18-under-par 266 to claim the Genesis Invitational, finishing one stroke ahead of Rory McIlroy and Kurt Kitayama.

He started Sunday with a six-shot advantage and pushed it to seven through the first three holes. 

From that point, the round tightened a 1-over 72 followed, and he did not make a birdie across his final 15 holes. Even so, he stayed ahead and faced a three-foot par putt on the 18th. He converted it to finish the job.

With the result, he earned $4 million and 700 FedExCup points, which moved him to the top of the season standings. The win is also expected to lift him into the top 25 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

Summing up the 26-year-old’s finish, McIlroy said, “I give him all the props; he did what he needed to do, and I'm happy for him.”

The five-time major winner was later asked about the challenge of closing out a first PGA Tour win.

Rory McIlroy on the Pressure of Closing Out a First PGA Tour Win

Rory McIlroy was asked about being in Jacob Bridgeman’s position and whether closing out a tournament for the first time is ever easy.

The 29-time-PGA Tour winner responded without hesitation: “No, not at all.”

Rory McIlroy earned his first PGA Tour title at the 2010 Quail Hollow Championship on May 2, 2010. He was 20 years old, two days short of turning 21, and became the youngest winner on tour since Tiger Woods in 1996.

However, the path to that win was not straightforward. During the second round on Friday, he was close to missing the cut and needed a late eagle just to advance to the weekend.

From there, the tournament shifted. Entering the final round four shots behind, McIlroy shot a 10-under 62, setting a course record and finishing at 15-under-par 273 (72-73-66-62). 

He closed with six consecutive scores of three, including a 43-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, and won by four strokes over Phil Mickelson.

What do you think about Jacob Bridgeman’s closing stretch? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Joyita Das