Jacob Bridgeman holds on at Genesis Invitational to take PGA Tour money lead

Jacob Bridgeman was 13^th on the PGA Tour money list last week.

He’s now at the top, with nearly $1 million more than second-place Collin Morikawa.

Winning $4 million for four days of work will do that for you.

Genesis Invitational tournament host Tiger Woods (left) congratulates Jacob Bridgeman after winning the PGA Tour Signature Event on Feb. 22 at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. On the right is Bridgeman’s wife Haley.

Bridgeman won his first PGA Tour title with a gutsy finish at the Genesis Invitational, after a seven-shot lead at one point shrank to one over Kurt Kitiyama.

Bridgeman bogeyed the 17^th hole at the Riviera Country Club after a long bunker shot, and made a nerve-wracking par putt of nearly 4 feet at the last, seconds after Rory McIlroy startled the crowd by draining a long birdie putt to get within one shot. Bridgeman also has something tournament host Tiger Woods doesn’t have ― a victory at Riviera.

Bridgeman, a former Clemson player, has now won more than $5.2 million. He is the first first-time winner this season and the 13^th to make his first victory at Riviera.

Who joined the Millionaire Club?

Adam Scott’s solo fourth with a final-round 63 earned him $1 million, making him the 18^th player on Tour this year to reach that figure this season.

Also joining the club were McIlroy and Kitiyama (tie for second, $1.8 million) and Tommy Fleetwood (tie for seventh, $603,200).

Last season at this time, there were 20 players who had passed $1 million in earnings.

Bridgeman can add to his lead at Cognizant

Bridgeman, who leads Morikawa by $991,533, can put more distance on him and the rest of the pack at the Cognizant Classic, which begins on Feb. 26 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens and carries a total purse of $9.6 million and $1,728,000 for the winner.

Bridgeman is one of only four players among the top 30 on the money list in the field. The next-highest player is No. 9 Ryan Gerard ($1,994,828), No. 18 Scott ($1,169,222) and No. 21 Patrick Rodgers ($900,108).

That means Bridgeman will remain the money leader no matter what happens, even if he misses the cut and Gerard wins, since Gerard is $3.2 million behind him. That will mark the first time this season a player has stayed atop the money list for two weeks in a row. There have been five leaders in six tournaments.