Bridgeman in Control, McIlroy in Pursuit with 18 Holes to Play
Pressure is a privilege, and Jacob Bridgeman rose to the occasion Saturday at The Genesis Invitational. After 54 holes, Bridgeman holds a six-shot lead heading into Sunday’s final round. His 19-under-par 194 ties the tournament record for the lowest 54-hole score.
Bridgeman entered the day at The Riviera Country Club tied for the 36-hole lead, and separated himself from the rest of the leaderboard with a seven-under 64. He opened his round with three birdies over the first four holes before an electric stretch to begin the back nine. A birdie-eagle-birdie run on the 10th, 11th and 12th holes propelled the third-year pro ahead of the field.
“I played great this whole week, so I don’t think it was a surprise to me that my game was the way it is,” Bridgeman said. “I’ve said kind of the whole week I feel comfortable and I felt great today.”
Bridgeman will look to win for the first time on the PGA TOUR in his 66th career start. His best finish to date came last year when he tied for second at the Cognizant Classic. Bridgeman would become the first player to earn his maiden PGA TOUR victory at The Riviera Country Club since James Hahn in 2015.
Chasing Bridgeman is Rory McIlroy, the five-time major champion and recent Grand Slam winner. McIlroy’s two-under 69 placed him in Sunday’s final pairing. He is searching for his 30th career PGA TOUR victory at one of golf’s most historic venues.
“I’m hitting the ball well. If I can keep driving it like that, putting the ball in the fairway, just giving myself chances and go from there,” McIlroy said. “That’s all I can really do. I’m six back, I need to get off to a fast start, try to apply some pressure and hopefully I can do that.”
Aldrich Potgieter and Patrick Cantlay both posted six-under 65s, which would have stood as the rounds of the day if not for Bridgeman’s charge. Potgieter sits seven shots back with 18 holes to play.
“Ballstriking was really good straight off the bat today,” Potgieter said after his round. “Made a nice eagle to start off the round. I finally decided not to hit driver on 1, tried to keep it in play and have a good angle to the flag. So it was good to start off with an eagle and get the round going.”
The final round of the 2026 Genesis Invitational gets underway Sunday at 7:05 a.m. A limited number of tickets remain as the centennial tournament comes to a triumphant conclusion.