PACIFIC PALISADES — There was something funny about Saturday’s most spectacular putt, a 7-wood putt by the tournament leader, a 259-yard drive that landed softly, flowed toward the hole, glanced up and settled just eight inches for an eagle putt:
Hardly anyone stuck around to see it.
Maybe that’s overstating things. there it Was still a handful of the LA faithful who had stuck around to watch Jacob Bridgeman work his magic on Riviera’s par-5 11th – and showed their appreciation. From what I gather, Tiger Woods was impressed in the cabin. But on the course, most of the crowd had raced ahead a hole or two, following fan favorite Rory McIlroy rather than the relative unknown behind him.
On Sunday, they won’t have to choose. McIlroy sits second at 13 under par, punching a ticket to the final two thanks to a steady, strong stretch of golf and just two bogeys through 54 holes. But he is six shots behind Bridgeman, who shot the day on Saturday – 7-under 64 – and will now find himself in unprecedented territory, a shot ahead of playing alongside one of the biggest names in the game.
In some ways, golf fans should have seen this coming. Bridgeman has been among the hottest players on the planet; he has four straight top-20s to start the season, including a T8 at Pebble Beach last week.
In other ways, the timing is hilarious. That T8, after all, was highlighted by a strange sequence of events at Pebble Beach’s par-5 18th, where Bridgeman took an interminable amount of time to make the bogey as leader Collin Morikawa stood in the fairway, teeing off. The moment gained Bridgeman unprecedented attention. He prefers the circumstances of this week’s attention.
“I’m looking back there watching him walk away knowing they’re just frustrated,” Bridgeman said earlier this week, reflecting on the moment at Pebble. “The last thing I want to do is ice Collin and get him messed up. So I’m glad it ended the way it did.”
After about 20 minutes, Morikawa holed his second around the green, made his birdie and walked away with a massive victory.
Now Bridgeman wants one of his own.
Bridgeman, who is 26, grew up in South Carolina. He’s light but dirty hard, hits the dirt long and puts it better than anyone. He’s been struggling with his driver, he said, but this week he’s been fine. Considering he’s leading the field in Strokes Gained: Approach AND Hits Earned: Putting, well is more than enough.
He has been close to a victory; a low final round at last year’s Cognizant earned him T2, he fumbled at Valspar en route to third, he finished T4 at Truist, T5 at John Deere and T4 at last month’s Sony Open.
He has a feeling this time will be different. And if he was surprised by Saturday’s bird attack, he certainly didn’t say so.
“I played well all week, so I don’t think it was a surprise to me that my game was the way it was,” he said. “I’ve been saying all week that I feel comfortable and I felt good today.”
The Clemson grad seemed to be one of the few players on the field with a proper plan for Riviera’s Poa annua greens, which are frighteningly fast and become more turbulent as the afternoon wears on.
“In the middle of my round, I hit really hard and I told my caddy, I need to hit them a little softer, they’re not taking breaks. After that I feel like I hit a lot of good shots,” he said.
He did the most damage with his irons, however, winning an unprecedented six strokes on the course. How? He credited his work with his coach Scott Hamilton, his newfound ability to hit the ball higher, the ball transition on a TaylorMade TP5x and the soft greens giving him the confidence to hit “quick shots” he feels he can control.
Bridgeman gave the air of a man unfazed by a situation – up to six with Rory McIlroy at your side – that would have a medium hack in horror. The two played together at last summer’s BMW Championship and Bridgeman was pleasantly surprised by how normal it felt.
“I was a little unsure of how it was going to be last year when I played him in the playoffs. And I had a big day in Baltimore, I had to play well to make the tournament championship and I was paired with Rory and it was kind of too much, I thought.
“Then I went out there and he was super nice to me and super welcoming, and the fans were great too.”
McIlroy recalled the pairing, if not the specifics — “we played late last year somewhere, probably in the playoff,” he said — but he knows his position.
“I’m six back, I have to start fast, try to apply pressure and hopefully I can do that,” he said. “It’s good to be able to look at Jacob and see what’s going on. If he opens the door a little bit, hopefully I’ll be there to take advantage.”
What about Bridgeman? He plans to keep that door closed. He plans to stay aggressive. And he plans to keep an eye on McIlroy — and anyone else who files a charge. He always loved looking at the leaderboards. Especially when his name is at the top.
“I always wanted to know what I was supposed to do,” he said.
Bridgeman also knows this weekend marks the first time some sports fans will see him in full flight. So what does he want people to know about him?
“I’m a competitor,” he said. “I haven’t had many chances to win yet in my career, but hopefully I’ll get a chance, a good chance tomorrow, until the end. If I can, I’d like to start playing and get a lot of them.”
Good news for Bridgeman: There is no beach on the Riviera. Not even the ocean. Just 18 glorious holes of golf. So far, they have hardly presented a challenge.
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