– Jacob Bridgeman (-19) is the undisputed leader of the Genesis Invitational after the third round, having signed a card of 64 strokes that has given him an interesting six-stroke lead over his closest pursuer, a certain Rory McIlroy (-13) heading into the final round at Riviera. This 26-year-old, a native of South Carolina, will be seeking his first victory on the PGA Tour tomorrow. But not only that: he will actually be seeking his first win in a tournament counting towards the world ranking…
– He has never won, therefore, nor has he been in a similar situation, but this great moment has been maturing step by step, improving each season and finally making a place for himself in 2025 among the top one hundred in the world (he arrived at this event in Riviera ranked as Number 52 in the world, his highest position to date in this ranking). Last year, indeed, he began to appear with some regularity at the top of the leaderboards, reaching the final of the Fedex Cup, the Tour Championship. Certainly, he has been giving notice and is now on the brink of a major success in this second Signature Event of the season, but is he really a potential global superstar?
– Well, well, what a question. The easy thing would be to dodge the issue and simply point out that he will certainly become a great star if he plays only half as well as he has this week, especially this Saturday, or if he continues putting as regularly as he has in this Genesis Invitational. It is truly the area where this player has stood out the most as a professional, on the greens, and it is certainly more than a pleasant experience to watch him putt on the tricky greens of Riviera. Composure and determination.
– Let’s see. Bridgeman, who reached Number 7 in the amateur world rankings, has only played two Majors to date. He did so last year and did not make the cut in the PGA or the US Open. Let’s not be impatient: perhaps this year will be different, because it feels like we are going to have him in the four major events of the year and he has certainly not stopped growing. Tomorrow’s test, starting with such a big lead, is undoubtedly going to be very important for this player. It absolutely depends on him, because even a par card could be enough for him.
– Marco Penge (-9), let’s not deny it, was given more accolades some time ago than Bridgeman carries today, but the Englishman has faltered in his first major attempt at victory on the PGA Tour, with a Saturday card of 74 strokes. Still, he can fix it tomorrow and earn valuable points.
– Who will not be in the fight for victory is Scottie Scheffler (-5), who managed to get the better of Riviera today, but whose record of 66 strokes has left him too far from the leader, fourteen strokes behind, no less. Another matter is whether he is capable of achieving his nineteenth consecutive top ten… At this point, it is still worth giving him full credibility, as he is three strokes away from the line that currently marks the top ten of the tournament.
– Bridgeman, dazzling all day with irons and wedges in hand, still left himself an excellent birdie chance on the 18th, but missed a putt of less than two metres that would have taken his lead to seven strokes. It’s just an anecdotal detail and, even if he had holed it, you don’t have to be a genius to sense that the hours could feel long until he tees off on the 1st on Sunday immediately after Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman will still try to disrupt and spoil his party, there is no doubt about that, but he will need a lot of help from the leader to emerge victorious. On the other hand, nothing Bridgeman does tomorrow, good or not so good, will definitively reveal whether we are really looking at something more than a notable top 50 in the world… But it can certainly give us some clues.
