The 38 minutes that changed Jacob Bridgeman’s career

In every player’s career, there are moments that become defining. It could be a putt to make a cut or keep your PGA Tour card. Or it could be a decision to go for a shot in the hunt. For Jacob Bridgeman, it happened on Saturday afternoon at Riviera Country Club. And it, effectively, won him the tournament.

The 2026 Genesis Invitational was the 66th start of Bridgeman’s Tour career. The Clemson alum earned his tour card via the Korn Ferry Tour after playing his way on to the developmental tour through PGA Tour University in 2022. With top-20 finishes in all five of his 2026 PGA Tour starts entering Riviera, he was clearly a man in form. Then, just a week on from watching his chances to win at Pebble Beach fall apart on the sand of Stillwater Cove, the 26-year-old rolled in a three-foot putt to win his first title as a professional, in front of tournament host Tiger Woods.

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Technically, that was indeed the winning moment. However, you can make the case that Bridgeman earned victory over the course of 38 minutes on Saturday afternoon.

RELATED: ‘I couldn’t feel my hands’—Jacob Bridgeman’s harrowing finish at Riviera

Saturday 1:46 p.m.

Bridgeman has just rolled in a three-foot putt for par on the ninth green and is waiting on the Riviera’s famous 10th tee. Despite playing his last five holes in one over par, he has a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy heading into the back nine.

At this point, DataGolf said his win probability was 27.0 percent. McIlroy, one back, was the favourite at 37.6 percent.

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Saturday 1:55 p.m.

Following a McIlroy bogey on the 10th hole, one group ahead of him, Bridgeman drives just short of the green at the reachable, 300-yard par 4.

A poor chip left him a birdie putt, over a ridge, from 12 feet. Bridgeman, inside the top five in strokes gained/putting this season, stepped up and rolled his ball into the hole. Combined with the McIlroy bogey, he was now three clear atop the leaderboard.

With that, his win probability jumped to 36.6 percent. To put that in context, Scottie Scheffler started the week with an 18.1 percent win probability. Bridgeman’s probability was more than twice that, with 26 holes still to play.

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RELATED: Why Jacob Bridgeman completely missed the USA-Canada Olympic gold-medal game

Saturday 2:06 p.m.

Now on the par-5 11th hole, Bridgeman’s 327-yard drive found the middle of the fairway and left him 258 yards, to a pin positioned in the back-right of the green. He pulled his 7-wood and hit one of the shots of his career. Fading back towards the hole, his ball landed softly just beyond the top of the slope that divides that back portion of the green and finished eight inches from the cup for an albatross.

A tap-in eagle and, now, a four-shot lead.

That jumped his win probability to 53.9 percent. He was now, for the first time in his career, “likely” to win. But he wasn’t done yet.

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RELATED: The clubs Jacob Bridgeman used to win the Genesis Invitational

Saturday 2:24 p.m.

The 12th hole at Riviera has played as the hardest hole during the Genesis every year for the last six years. In fact, the scoring average on the par 4 (4.22) was actually higher than the scoring average on Riviera’s par-5 opening hole for the week. However, no one told Bridgeman.

Another perfect, 300-yard drive down the middle of the fairway left him an approach from 185 yards. An aggressive swing with a 7-iron finished 11 feet, pin-high right.

On a hole where many hope for a four, Bridgeman rolled his birdie putt into the middle of the hole.

It capped off a three-hole, four-under-par run that, over the course of 38 minutes, grew his lead from one to five and improved his win probability from 27.0 percent to 65.2 percent.

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In three holes, he gained +3.26 shots on the field. When you consider that Scheffler led the PGA Tour in strokes gained/total in 2025, beating the field by an average of +2.74 shots per round, you get a sense of what Bridgeman achieved early on Saturday afternoon.

His 7-wood approach on the 11th hole gained +1.38 shots, making it the single best shot of his three-year PGA Tour career.

After his run early on the back nine on Saturday, Bridgeman had a five-shot lead and was able to take a more conservative approach. He would play the remaining 24 holes in level par to win by one shot.

Standing on the 18th green on Sunday, he shook McIlroy’s hand, he received the trophy from Tiger Woods and collected a check worth $4 million. However, I would argue he earned it all over the course of 38 minutes on Saturday afternoon.

“How about that run?” said Tiger Woods, in commentary at the time Bridgeman made his key stretch on Saturday. “That’ll work!”

And it did.