The Florida Swing kicks off this week with the 2026 Cognizant Classic at PGA National in the Palm Beaches. The first round begins on Thursday morning in West Palm Beach, Florida, as players take on the daunting Bear Trap on the Champion Course. Below, we search for the best value prop bets for the Cognizant Classic from BetMGM Sportsbook’s odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions.
It’s a weaker field this week after 2 consecutive signature events, especially after Ben Griffin, Jacob Bridgeman and Adam Scott all withdrew Monday. The top players are resting up following the Genesis Invitational and getting ready for the big, upcoming tournaments on the schedule, like the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship. Ryan Gerard and Shane Lowry are co-favorites here at +1600.
The Champion Course at PGA National is 7,223 yards long and is a par 71, featuring water hazards on 15 of the 18 holes. It’s a stark contrast to Riviera Country Club last week, where there were no water hazards anywhere on the Los Angeles property. Joe Highsmith (+20000) is the defending champion after winning last year at 19-under par, setting a tournament record with a score of 265.
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Cognizant Classic – Top-5 picks
Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET.
Ryan Gerard (+320)
Gerard has gotten off to a great start this season, finishing second twice already in 2026. His best finish in this event was fourth in 2023, and he also came in 25th last year. In a weaker field, he’s a decent bet to finish top 5.
Cognizant Classic: Best prop bets
Shane Lowry (+320)
Lowry has 3 top-5 finishes in the last 4 years alone, showing he knows how to take apart PGA National and all of the trouble that lurks. He’s come in eighth and 24th in his 2 starts so far this season, entering the week in good form.
Cognizant Classic – Top-10 picks
Nicolai Hojgaard (+200)
Hojgaard came in 18th last year and has gotten off to a strong start in 2026, ranking seventh in SG: tee-to-green. In his last start at the WM Phoenix Open, he tied for third at 15-under par.
Davis Thompson (+350)
Thompson has been abysmal on the greens this season, ranking 162nd in SG: putting. His ball-striking has been quite good, though, sitting 14th among players in the field in SG: tee-to-green in the last 3 months.
Will Zalatoris (+350)
Zalatoris is No. 1 in the field in SG: tee-to-green in the last 3 months, according to Data Golf, showing how well he’s struck the ball compared to everyone else playing this week. Once again, his putter is failing him, but maybe Bermudagrass will be the change he needs.
Cognizant Classic – Top-20 picks
Beau Hossler (+350)
In the last month, Hossler is seventh in strokes gained from tee-to-green in this week’s field. His course history is good, too, finishing between 16th and 32nd in his last 3 starts at the Cognizant.
Nico Echavarria (+230)
Echavarria has missed the cut twice and finished 21st once in 3 starts here, so it’s been an up-and-down showing at PGA National. But he’s a good player in windy conditions, so if the wind picks up, he’s someone to watch.
Cognizant Classic – Matchups
Suggested play is golfer in bold.
Davis Thompson (-105) vs. Max McGreevy (-118)
Thompson shouldn’t be an underdog to McGreevy in this matchup, even with his poor course history. He’s been hitting the ball great and should get the putter going on Bermuda greens.
Cognizant Classic – Top Brit and Irish
Shane Lowry (+188)
It’s not a terribly strong field to begin with, and the group of British and Irish players are particularly weak. Aaron Rai (+450) is a threat to Lowry in this market after his solid showing at the Genesis, but Lowry still has better course history and is off to an impressive start to the PGA Tour season.
Cognizant Classic – First-round leader
Daniel Berger (+4000)
Berger fired an opening-round 63 last year to sit tied for second and also opened with a 65 in 2022, a shot behind Kurt Kitayama as the first-round leader.
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
Golfweek:
Genesis Invitational prize money payouts for PGA Tour golfers at Riviera
Winner’s Bag: Jacob Bridgeman, 2026 Genesis Invitational

It’s been a long, cold winter for Justin Thomas. But after a lengthy layoff, the two-time major winner will make his return to the PGA Tour.
Thomas announced after a TGL match on Monday that he will make his first PGA Tour start of the season at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. It will be Thomas’s first Tour start since he underwent back surgery in November.
“I’ve missed it,” Thomas said on Monday, via Golf Magic. “It’s been a long time, but it’s good to be back here playing and feel the competitiveness and the juices and get back playing again. I’ve watched these guys on TV for what feels like a really long time. It feels good to be playing with them.”
Constant Pain Led Justin Thomas to Surgery
Monday’s TGL match for Atlanta Drive was Justin Thomas’s first competitive start since undergoing microdiscectomy surgery in November. His last PGA Tour start was at the Procore Championship on Sept. 11, followed by the Ryder Cup on Sept. 26.
“It’s pretty close to normal,” Thomas said, via Golf Digest. “The rehab has been good. I’ve been, I guess, kind of fully cleared or back to normal, whatever that is, for around three-and-a-half-ish weeks. So it’s really just been about getting used to playing more.”
The disc issue caused Thomas “nagging hip pain,” according to multiple outlets. Now, his main goal is to play without any ailments.
“I have to do the little things and stay on top of it, and playing injury-free is my main goal and always has been,” he said. “And it was unfortunate, but it is what it is, and I’m just gonna make the best out of it and do the right things.”
Thomas admitted he is still working his way back from the months-long layoff and was rusty in his TGL return on Monday.
“It was not very good on my end,” Thomas said of his TGL performance, via the PGA Tour website. “I think it took me a little bit to get in a rhythm and kind of get comfortable.”
Recap of 2025 for Justin Thomas
Thomas finished his 2025 PGA Tour campaign with eight top-10 finishes, including second-place finishes at The American Express, the Valspar Championship, and the Truist Championship. His lone win on the season was at the RBC Heritage on April 17.
The 16-time PGA Tour winner is still searching for this first win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. In four appearances at Bay Hill, Thomas has made the cut but has just one top-20 finish (T12 in 2024).
Arnold Palmer Invitational Info
The Arnold Palmer Invitational is the PGA Tour’s third signature event of the season and tees off on Thursday, March 9. Bay Hill Club has hosted the event since 1979 and is considered one of the most difficult courses on the PGA Tour schedule.
Looming water hazards and a multitude of bunkers make Bay Hill a particularly tough course for even PGA pros to navigate. That makes this event an even more intriguing one for Thomas to make his return at.
“At least everybody else will be struggling with me at Bay Hill,” he said. “So that’ll make me feel a little bit better.”

Tiger Woods is on the clock! The Ryder Cup captaincy is on the table for him, and the question is no longer whether he wants this role; it is whether his body and his schedule will allow him to take it on. Whatever it is, he needs to make a decision soon.
The PGA of America has set a soft deadline before the Masters in April for Woods to confirm whether he wants the Ryder Cup captaincy at Adare Manor, Ireland. Sources told the AP that officials are not framing it as an ultimatum, but that the clock is ticking. Woods has not shut the door on the captaincy, but he is weighing everything before making a decision.
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“I’m trying to figure out what we’re trying to do with our tour,” the 15x major winner said. “That’s been driving me hours upon hours every day, trying to figure out if I can do our team—Team USA and our players and everyone involved in the Ryder Cup—if I can do it justice.”
His workload away from the course is not making that decision any easier. Woods serves as chairman of the Future Competition Committee, which is working through one of the most complex schedule overhauls in PGA Tour history. Woods candidly shared that he spent a lot of hours practicing in his prime, but it doesn’t even compare to what he has done in the boardroom.
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Woods’s hesitation makes more sense when you factor in what his body has been through. Woods ruptured his Achilles tendon in March 2025 and followed that with a seventh back surgery in October 2025 to replace a disc in his lower back. He has not competed professionally in over a year. At 50, recovery is slower, though he told CBS some good news at the Genesis Invitational.
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The 82x Tour winner shared that the Achilles is no longer the issue, but the back remains uncertain. This uncertainty is now shaping two conversations at once: whether he lines up at Augusta in April 2026 and whether he commits to leading Team USA in 2027. Neither of the two is impossible as of now.
When a reporter asked Woods if he is ruling out this year’s Augusta showdown, the golfer simply said, “No.”
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Notably, this is not the first time the captaincy has landed at his door. In July 2024, Woods turned down the role for the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, citing his injury and new Tour responsibilities.
“With my new responsibilities to the Tour and time commitments involved, I felt like I would not be able to commit the time to Team USA,” he said at the time. The PGA of America waited longer than any previous cycle before naming Keegan Bradley as captain.
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While Woods’s individual Ryder Cup playing record, 13 wins, 21 losses, and 3 halves in 8 appearances, is surprisingly modest for a player of his stature, the PGA’s persistence likely stems from his proven leadership, most notably when he captained the American squad to a comeback victory at the 2019 Presidents Cup. He became the first playing captain since Hale Irwin in 1994, and the US had a brilliant comeback on Sunday. They were trailing before the final day of singles matches but won six and tied four of the 12 matches.
An answer before Augusta will tell a lot about what Tiger Woods prioritizes heading into 2027. The captaincy question is only half the story. His playing future at Augusta has drawn just as much outside scrutiny.
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PGA Pro takes an unfiltered take on Tiger Woods’s probable Masters return
While Woods kept everyone guessing with a one-word answer at Riviera, former US Open champion Rich Beem was far more direct on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast. His core argument was simple: showing up at Augusta is very different from being ready for it.
Beem pointed out that almost every shot at Augusta National is played from an uneven lie, whether it is a second shot, a pitch, or even a putt. That kind of muscle memory cannot be built on a driving range. It needs competitive rounds with a scorecard in hand, and Woods has not played a tournament in over a year.
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Beem did acknowledge that Tiger Woods looked physically strong at the Genesis Invitational, but he was careful to separate appearance from tournament readiness. Augusta’s walking demands across 72 holes are what will ultimately expose any weakness. His legs, not his ball-striking, are the real question mark heading into April.
Beem was not alone in that assessment.
Golf analysts Trey Wingo and Justin Ray echoed similar concerns, with Wingo pointing to Augusta’s terrain as the core issue. His argument was straightforward: for anyone who has not walked the course, the sheer elevation and gradient of Augusta National are difficult to appreciate from the outside, and that physical reality is what makes a cold return there especially risky for Woods.
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Nobody dismissed Woods entirely. Afterall, he has won at Augusta five times and understands the course better than almost anyone but Beem’s concern is whether the body can hold up across four competitive rounds at one of the most physically demanding walks in major championship golf.

The PGA Tour tees off its Florida swing with Brooks Koepka in the field in Palm Beach Gardens, the LPGA Tour continues its Asia swing and a coveted spot in the Masters is on the line in South Africa.
PGA TOUR
THIS WEEK: Cognizant Classic, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Feb. 26-March 1
Course: PGA National, Champion Course (Par 71, 7,223 Yards)
Purse: $9.6M (Winner: $1.728M)
Defending Champion: Joe Highsmith
FedEx Cup Leader: Jacob Bridgeman
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 6:45 a.m.-6 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 7:45 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @the_cognizant
NOTES: The PGA Tour begins is four-tournament Florida swing with a field that includes eight of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. … The course has been lengthened by about 100 yards from last year, and water is in play on 15 of 18 holes. Hole Nos. 15-17 are known as the

Look, no disrespect to this week’s PGA Tour stop at PGA National, which I’ll be covering, but I need to be upfront with you: when it comes to Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Arnold Palmer, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational, I’m in that fanatical top 10% of fans. No question about it.
So consider this your official warning, Athlon Sports golf readers: next week (and, honestly, some of this week too) will be all things Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Arnold Palmer, and the API. We’re talking the course, its rich history, tournament history and stats, past champions, The King himself, his enduring legacy, the foundation’s impact, the hospitals bearing his name, and so much more.
Let this article serve as your notice that all things Arnie are on the horizon.
Orlando’s Signature Event Returns
Since 1979, the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard has been a proving ground for the PGA Tour’s biggest names and a can’t-miss event for golf’s most passionate fans. Each spring under the Bay Hill sun, legacies are forged, champions are crowned, and fans from across the globe come together to celebrate something bigger than just golf.
This year’s tournament runs March 2-8, 2026, and if you’ve never experienced it in person, you’re missing out on one of the tour’s most special weeks. There’s something different about Bay Hill. Maybe it’s the ghost of Arnie walking those fairways. Maybe it’s the way the tournament honors his memory while pushing today’s stars to add their names to history. Whatever it is, it works.
Tournament week at Bay Hill isn’t just about four rounds of competitive golf. It’s a celebration that kicks off Monday, March 2 with Arnie’s Army Legacy Pro-Am presented by Chick-fil-A. The shotgun start goes off at 9:00 a.m., followed by a post-event awards celebration at 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday brings the Executive Women’s Breakfast presented by Mastercard, with registration starting at 8:30 a.m. It’s one of those events that showcases how the tournament extends beyond just the competition itself.
Wednesday features the Official Arnold Palmer Invitational Pro-Am, followed by the Tournament Gala & Pro-Am Awards Celebration at 6:30 p.m. Then Thursday through Sunday, it’s game time, with gates opening at 7:30 a.m. for the first two rounds and 8:30 a.m. for the weekend.
Special Experiences You Can’t Miss
One of the coolest events during tournament week is Throwback Thursday, presented by Corkcicle. From the days of the Citrus Classic to today’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, Bay Hill has been welcoming the PGA Tour for nearly 50 years. At this event, fans can travel back through the tournament’s history while today’s biggest stars write a new chapter just steps away.
You’ll find it at the Landing off the 9th fairway, where you can sip complimentary Anheuser-Busch beer, pose with trophies from years past, and score some retro gear available only at this event. It’s the kind of experience that connects you to the tournament’s rich history in a tangible way.
For families, the VyStar Credit Union Junior Clinic is a must. Kids of all ages are invited to watch, learn, and be inspired as a PGA Tour player shares insights and demonstrates techniques. It’s about fostering a lifelong love for the game, something Arnie would have absolutely loved.
Fan Features and Amenities
If you’re planning to attend, here’s what you need to know. Bleachers are available on a first-come, first-served basis at holes 1, 6, 7, 14, 17, 18, and the driving range. The ULTRA Club features covered grandstands at hole 6, and the Technics Sound Deck at hole 7 lets you hear your favorite players tee off, react to their shots, and banter with fellow players and caddies.
Mastercard cardholders get access to the Mastercard Club, an upgraded venue with a fun atmosphere, full bar, augmented reality photo experience featuring Mastercard golf ambassadors, and spectacular views of the driving range, putting green, and 9th hole.
New this year is Arnie’s Army Fan Village on the 9th fairway, featuring a shady area with a big screen to watch the live telecast. And yes, Chick-fil-A will be serving up their iconic chicken sandwich. For foodies, check out Foodies & Fairways presented by Mastercard and Capital One Business near the main entrance off 18.
Families with young children will appreciate the Orlando Health Family Care Suites, which provide air-conditioned spaces stocked with complimentary diapers, changing tables, private nursing areas, phone charging stations, and comfortable seating. The Orlando Health Kids Zone features a putt-putt area and coloring mural wall.
A Special Podcast Guest
On Thursday, Feb. 26, as I reported yesterday, The Quiet Please Golf Podcast, which I’m a proud co-host of, will welcome Sam Saunders, grandson of Mr. Palmer and former Tour player. It’s going to be a special conversation, and I can’t wait to share it with you all.
The Legacy Lives On
What makes the Arnold Palmer Invitational truly special isn’t just the golf. It’s the way Arnold and Winnie Palmer created a blueprint for serving others. Today, driven by the generosity of “Arnie’s Army,” the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation carries on a pioneering tradition of charity, service, and doing right by others.
As Arnold Palmer once said, “When people ask what’s driven me all these years, I always give the same answer. It’s you.”
That quote captures everything about why this tournament matters. It’s about the fans, the community, the game itself, and the values that Arnie embodied throughout his life.
What’s Coming Next Week
Throughout next week, I’ll be diving deep into everything Bay Hill. Expect articles on the course’s unique challenges, tournament history and statistics, profiles of past champions, and stories about The King’s lasting impact. I’ll also share some cool finds for Arnold Palmer fanatics, from unique items on Etsy to official gear from Fanatics.
Whether you’re planning to attend in person, watching on TV, or streaming on your devices, next week is going to be a celebration of one of golf’s greatest ambassadors and one of the tour’s most beloved events.
Get ready. It’s going to be a week dedicated to The King.

Here’s the latest casualty of the bomb cyclone gripping the Northeast this week. The Producers Guild of America has postponed tonight’s PGA Awards ceremony in New York that was to honor the winners in its Children’s and Sports categories.
Instead, those winners will be revealed Thursday along with the recipients of the Short Form and PGA Innovation Awards. The rest of the 2026 Producers Guild Awards will be announced on Saturday, February 28, at the Fairmont Century Plaza.
New York and other cities are being crippled by a historic storm that is dropping record amounts of snow on the region. Movie theaters are closed, Broadway has canceled all evening performances for a second consecutive night, and some morning shows went on without studio audiences today.
Vying for the top film prize — the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures — at Saturday’s PGA Awards this weekend are Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sentimental Value, Sinners, Train Dreams and Weapons. See the full list of PGA Awards nominees here.
The PGA’s Zanuck Award certainly is an Oscar bellwether category and has aligned with the Best Picture Academy Award winner for 17 of the past 22 years. Last year followed suit as the Producers Guild gave its award to Sean Baker’s Anora.
The PGA will honor a trio of industry heavyweights with career honors this weekend. Blumhouse’s Jason Blum will receive the Milestone Award, Spider-Verse franchise producer and three-time Oscar nominee Amy Pascal is set for the David O. Selznick Achievement Award, and Emmy-nominated The Game and Girlfriends creator-writer Mara Brock Akil will be presented with the Norman Lear Achievement Award.
RELATED: The 60 Movies That Have Made More Than $1 Billion At The Global Box Office

The PGA Tour is coming off back-to-back signature events and will now head to PGA National for a non-signature event, the Cognizant Classic, before heading Bay Hill for its third signature event of the year.
The scheduling of three top-tier tournament in the span of four weeks has left the Cognizant Classic with a barren field, headlined by the 2022 runner-up, Shane Lowry. Even with that being the case, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t bet this week. In fact, some of these smaller events have presented much more favorable betting opportunities than the bigger ones.
Let’s dive into the odds and my best bet for the opening tournament of the Florida swing.
Cognizant Classic odds
Top 15 odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Shane Lowry +1400
Ryan Gerard +1600
Nicolai Højgaard +2000
Rasmus Højgaard +2200
Keith Mitchell +2200
Michael Thorbjornsen +2200
Brooks Koepka +3000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +3000
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +3000
Aaron Rai +3300
Daniel Berger +3300
Thorbjørn Olesen +3300
Davis Thompson +3300
Will Zalatoris +3500
Max Homa +3500
Cognizant Classic how to watch
Thursday: 2–6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Friday: 2–6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
Saturday: 1–3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), 3–6 p.m. ET (NBC)
Sunday: 1–3 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. ET (NBC)
Cognizant Classic purse
Date: Thursday, Feb. 26–Sunday, Mar. 1
Purse: $9.6 million ($1.728 million to winner)
2025 champion: Joe Highsmith
Cognizant Classic notable golfers
Shane Lowry: The Irishman has a great history at PGA National, but he’s still seeking his first win here. Over the past four years at this event he has finishes of second, T5, T4, and T11. It makes sense why he decided to squeeze this tournament into his schedule. He’ll have plenty of confidence standing on the first tee on Thursday.
Keith Mitchell: His only win on the PGA Tour came at the 2019 edition of this tournament, beating Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka by a single stroke. Mitchell has had flashes of fantastic golf since that win, but he’s been unable to put it all together for four straight rounds. Now, he returns to a course where he has plenty of comfort and confidence. He has posted two top-10 finishes here since his win in 2019, so he’s hoping to be in peak form and give himself a chance at a second win at PGA National.
Cognizant Classic Best Bets
Haotong Li +4500 via BetMGM
Accuracy is the key to success at PGA National, so I’m going to target golfers who have been accurate both off the tee and with their approach play so far this season, and Haotong Li fits the bill. He was a popular bet at the WM Phoenix Open after a T8 finish at the American Express and a T11 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open, but he went on to miss the cut in Phoenix due to an uncharacteristically bad two rounds.
Now is the time to buy low on Li, who played phenomenally from tee to green in his second and third starts this season. He also continuously ranks amongst the most accurate drivers of the gold ball on a weekly basis. In a wide open field, I think he’s worth a look at 40-1 at PGA National.
Johnny Keefer +6000 via BetMGM
Johnny Keefer may not be a name you’re familiar with, but he’s 12th in the field in strokes-gained from tee to green over the past three months, including gaining 2.26 strokes per round with his irons at the American Express and 1.08 strokes per round in that area at the WM Phoenix Open. He’s also posted above-average accuracy off the tee in each of his four starts this year.
Keefer’s short game has let him down so far in 2026, but the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour standout is ready to put it all together. He’s a sneaky name at 55-to-1 to take advantage of a weak field at PGA National this week.
Andrew Putnam +15000 via Caesars
If we’re going to value accuracy this week, let’s bet on one of the most accurate drivers of the golf ball in the field this week. Over the past three months, Andrew Putnam has been the second most accurate driver amongst all golfers in the field this week. He has also already contended in an event, finishing T2 at the American Express. As a cherry on top, he posted a T11 finish at this event last year, proving he has a game built for success at PGA National.
Let’s take a shot on him at 150-to-1 this week.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

My heart remains at Riviera Country Club, but my body is in a middle seat en route home. What better time to reflect on the PGA Tour’s West Coast Swing — the good, the bad, the rumored, the mysterious.
Here are some winners, losers and questions from the opening stretch of the 2026 PGA Tour season.
WINNER: The 26-year-olds
Chris Gotterup won two of the first four events on this year’s calendar (given unusual circumstances, we’re treating the Sony as a half member of this year’s West Coast Swing), playing his best when things got most chaotic at the WM Phoenix Open and establishing himself as a fan favorite, a proven winner and arguably the best player on Tour 26 years old or below.
His current competition for that extremely unofficial title includes the guy who just won at Riviera; Jacob Bridgeman, like Gotterup, is 26. And while Gotterup took the weekend off (he missed the Genesis cut) Bridgeman beat everyone’s doors off for three days and hung on on Sunday to establish that he, too, has what it takes.
LOSER: Hawaii x PGA Tour
Is the PGA Tour headed back to Hawaii? Next year? Ever? It skipped Kapalua this year under controversial circumstances. Its Sony sponsorship just ran out. As the powers that be continue to reimagine the Tour’s optimal schedule, Hawaii remains a logistical challenge lacking a “big market.” How highly will Rolapp and Co. value continuity, tradition and nostalgia? We’ll see.
QUESTION: Where are the 25-year-olds?
Speaking of age, it’s jarring to browse whichever version of the world rankings you’d prefer and marvel at the lack of young stars. The 26-year-olds may be having a moment, but we’re still waiting for the emergence of the next young wave. There’s no reason to despair: Akshay Bhatia (24), the Hojgaard twins (also 24) and the Michaels (Brennan and Thorbjornsen, each 24) could all be on the brink of a breakthrough. But with Tom Kim in a bit of a rut, it feels like we’re searching for Who’s Next. (Shoutout also to Blades Brown, who stole the show for much of the week in Palm Springs.)
WINNER: The 45-year-olds
OK, I promise this whole list won’t be about age. In fact, lemme start with some hypocrisy: I wish when we talk about Justin Rose and Adam Scott that we’d focus less on their age. But it’s a useful way to pair two particularly impressive West Coast showings; Rose’s blowout win at Torrey Pines is worth extra points, of course, but Scott’s Sunday 63 to finish fourth at Riviera was nothing to scoff at, either. These guys are remarkably similar ages, they’ve had remarkably similar careers and they’re performing at remarkably similar levels at the moment. Let’s get ’em on a remarkable leaderboard at the Masters.
LOSER: The Scandinavians
While athletes from Norway and Sweden were dominating the Winter Olympics, their PGA Tour counterparts were having a slightly tougher time on the West Coast. Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg are among the Tour’s biggest talents and fan favorites — but neither has had his best thus far this year.
Hovland had a strong start at the WM Phoenix Open (T10) but less so at Pebble Beach (T58) and Riviera (T41), where talk turned more to his training aids than his scores.
And Aberg got severely ill for a second consecutive West Coast Swing — though if there’s good news, it’s that he seems to be trending up. Going WD-MC-T37-T20 means I guess he’s headed for a Masters victory?
(In other Scandinavian news, Alex Noren went MC-MC in Palm Springs and San Diego, but his T12 at Riviera was encouraging, too. And representing Denmark, the Hojgaard twins have each showed encouraging signs; Nicolai finished T3 at the WM and was one blowup hole from contending to win.)
QUESTION: Will Tiger Woods play the Masters?
Tiger Woods hinted that he’ll try. Then he hinted that he’ll try a second time. I don’t know if he will, but I think he’s told us the truth — if he can, he’ll do it.
LOSER: Scottie Scheffler’s Thursdays
Scottie Scheffler’s first Thursday of the season was a 63 at the American Express. So it’s particularly jarring that he’s just No. 116 on Tour in Round 1 Scoring Average. And it was strange to see him in last place when play was halted this past Thursday. Still …
WINNER: Scottie Scheffler’s other days
Considering he was in last place on Friday morning and needed to make a seven-foot curler on 18 just to stay inside the cut line, Scheffler’s T12 was another remarkable display of skill and determination. Sure, it snapped his streak of 18 consecutive Tour top-10s. But it only reinforced the idea that if you play enough rounds of golf, eventually Scheffler will rise to the top. Four tournaments in, here’s how his scoring average looks by round:
Round 1: 70.50 (116th)
Round 2: 65.75 (2nd)
Round 3: 67.00 (7th)
Round 4: 64.50 (2nd)
(If you were wondering who could possibly beat that 64.5, Will Zalatoris has played one fourth round this year and shot 64.)
QUESTION: So what the heck is going on with Scheffler on Thursdays?
My best guess is still some version of “nothing, really; this has just been a weird blip on the radar.” He led the Tour in first-round scoring last year, after all, and has had some funky starts in strange conditions. Let’s wait for a bigger sample size before we get panicky here.
WINNER: California kids
I’m thinking of two in particular: Collin Morikawa, who won for the first time in too long at Pebble Beach, and Jake Knapp, who just quietly put together the best stretch of golf of his life. Knapp hasn’t finished worse than T11 in five starts this year. Morikawa’s win was meaningful on several levels — because of how long it had been, because of where it took place, because of everything that went into it, because he and his wife have a baby on the way. It’s good to see West Coast kids eat up the West Coast Swing. And then of course there was another California sensation in the winner’s circle …
LOSER: Anthony Kim’s haters and doubters
I write this tongue in cheek; I think Anthony Kim‘s win showed just how many people have been on his side this entire time, rooting for something special. But he’s used a chip on his shoulder to get this far, and his shot at the haters showed he’ll keep drawing on that. Mostly it’s worth acknowledging that one of golf’s biggest moments this month happened on LIV Golf, with a one-of-a-kind comeback story capped off with an electric finish to a story a dozen years in the making.
QUESTION: What’s next for Jon Rahm, LIV and the DP World Tour?
Big picture, this is one of pro golf’s most compelling questions moving forward; LIV and the DP World Tour still seem in an uneasy coexistence and I’m curious how that will resolve. For now the DPWT has reached a temporary truce with several of its LIV members, allowing them to play both circuits and maintain Ryder Cup eligibility. But why isn’t Jon Rahm one of the players taking that deal, and is there any chance in the world he doesn’t play on next year’s European Ryder Cup team?
WINNER: CBS golf coverage
These courses look awesome in person, they look incredible on television and CBS continues to innovate in order to dial in their coverage.
Also, the little stuff continues to go a long way.
LOSER: Soggy conditions
There’s been plenty of discussion about moving these marquee West Coast stops to later in the PGA Tour schedule. A cold, soggy Pebble Beach followed by a cold, soggy Riviera made that case much more appealing, with fans shivering on the rope lines and golf balls plugging in greens. Two perfect weekend days capped the Genesis off in style, and wet and windy can be entertaining at Pebble, but each was still missing some of the firm, fast character it has at its best.
QUESTION: So are we doing the August West Coast thing?
I leave California more confused than I arrived. On paper it seems smart to have the best courses in the biggest spots on the PGA Tour calendar; what could be cooler than Pebble and Riviera as playoff venues? But there are issues with both sites that time of year. Pebble has a car show and a full tee sheet and it’s not near enough of a population center to draw a playoff-worthy crowd. In L.A., locals suggested that the golf-going crowd would be out of town in August and that its current spot on the calendar is actually optimal for getting people to actually attend.
If I was in charge, my top priority would be to remove the playoff events from the hellish August humidity of Atlanta and Memphis. I don’t need them in California, though — Boston, Chicago and Seattle are calling, as are a dozen other medium-to-large cities with ideal summer days. I’m curious where they’ll land, though.
And what the West Coast Swing will look like next year, and the year after that, and when we’ll be gazing at golf’s glorious coastlines again.
We’ll see you in Florida.

Thomas last played competitively in the Ryder Cup in September before undergoing a microdiscectomy in November.
Thomas has been cleared for full golf activities for about a month and feels his speed is close to normal.
PALM BEACH GARDENS — After playing one TGL match, Justin Thomas is returning to the PGA Tour at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Thomas’ return at the SoFi center Feb. 23 was uneventful as his Atlanta Drive team defeated Boston Common, 5-2.
Now comes the true test as he returns at Bay Hill March 5.

The Cognizant Classic starts Thursday with a field that looks noticeably different from the one it had 24 hours ago. Three withdrawals had landed in quick succession, but the final blow came when a 45-year-old Masters winner, Adam Scott, withdrew, giving Chan Kim a chance—Scott’s withdrawal stings, given what he had just produced at Riviera.
Adam Scott had gone through the entire 2025 season without a single top-10, managing just five top-25 finishes across the year. However, at the Genesis Invitational, he fired back-to-back rounds of 63 to claim the solo fourth spot, two of the lowest rounds of the week. This helped him rise 19 places in the OWGR to 52nd. This would have been his first appearance at the PGA National since 2021.
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Ben Griffin, Jacob Bridgeman, and Patrick Rodgers had all withdrawn earlier in the day, with Jackson Suber, Lanto Griffin, and Brandt Snedeker coming in as replacements. Harry Higgs was added via sponsor exemption, and the field was expanded from 121 to 123 players to accommodate Brooks Koepka via the Returning Member Program, with Frankie Capan III and Carson Young entering as the first two alternates.
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Griffin, ranked No. 11 in the world, had represented the US at the Ryder Cup and won three times in a season that established him as one of the Tour’s most consistent performers. Bridgeman’s absence carried some warning. After beating Rory McIlroy down the stretch at Riviera and receiving his first PGA Tour trophy from Tiger Woods, his childhood hero and tournament host, Bridgeman told reporters Sunday night he would “see” about playing the following week.
Pattrick Rodgers, a 35-year-old yet to claim a PGA Tour title across his career, rounded out a set of exits that left the field noticeably lighter than it was at the start of the week. At least Snedeker’s arrival adds something. The 10-time Tour winner and former FedEx Cup champion brings serious competition to a field that needed reinforcing. But the broader picture remains unchanged.
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The Cognizant now heads into its opening round with just one top-30 player, No. 26 Ryan Gerard, and eight of the world’s top 50 in total. While the $9.6 million purse sounds significant, its challenging spot on the calendar—sandwiched between Pebble Beach, Genesis, and the upcoming Players Championship—has clearly impacted its ability to draw top talent.
Although the withdrawals have reshaped the field, what remains still has some substance.
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What the Cognizant Classic field still has to offer
Brooks Koepka‘s presence adds the most intrigue. He missed both Pebble Beach and the Genesis Invitational because the Returning Member Program’s terms blocked him from accepting sponsor exemptions for signature events.
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His results in his first two starts back on Tour did not earn him entry either. The Cognizant Classic is his way back in, and it kicks off a run that also includes the Valspar Championship and the Texas Children’s Houston Open before The Masters.
Shane Lowry arrives in decent form. The 2019 Open champion finished T3 at the Dubai Invitational and T8 at Pebble Beach earlier this season, and Florida offers a genuine opportunity to push further up the standings.
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Will Zalatoris is also in the field. This will be only his third PGA Tour start since returning from back surgery, and every round he plays carries weight in terms of where his game currently stands.
With four withdrawals, a reshaped field, and a calendar that was never doing it any favors, can the Cognizant Classic still deliver a week worth watching?

The PGA Tour is considering significant schedule changes that could be implemented as early as 2027.
The Cognizant Classic’s future is uncertain due to its recent unfavorable calendar spot, which has diminished its field quality.
PALM BEACH GARDENS — With significant changes to the PGA Tour schedule expected as early as 2027, almost every tournament is under review.
Among those likely to be impacted: The Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches.
Cognizant, formerly known as the Honda Classic, starts on Thursday, Feb. 26, at PGA National. It has been in a spot on the calendar in recent years that led to the quality of the field suffering and a drop in fan interest.
One of three things could happen to the PGA Tour event that is celebrating its 20th year at PGA National and 24th since coming to Palm Beach County:
Remain in its current spot.
Move anywhere from February to April — or even to the fall.
Eventually be eliminated.
Joel Paige, managing director at PGA National when the then-Honda Classic moved there in 2007 after four years at The Country Club at Mirasol, believes Cognizant is in a vulnerable position.

2025 was a tough year for Brooks Koepka and Jena Sims, and not for the reasons most people were watching. Beyond the noise around his career, the couple faced something far more personal: the loss of their baby at 16 weeks, a grief Sims has been navigating openly ever since.
During a recent Instagram Q&A, a follower asked Sims whether she wanted more kids. Her answer was candid and measured. “Really enjoying the one we have at the moment,” she wrote, alongside a photo of herself hugging her two-year-old son, Crew. “Our loss at 16 weeks is still something I am healing from.”
It was a quiet but significant admission, one that made clear this isn’t a chapter she has moved on from.
Sims first went public with the loss in October 2025, sharing a carousel on Instagram that included sonogram images, flowers, and photos of her growing belly.
In her caption, she wrote, “At 16 weeks, we learned that our baby’s heart had stopped beating. This is a grief no parent is ever prepared for. We are devastated but remain hopeful to give Crew a sibling one day.”
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She also took a moment to address the medical professionals who deliver such news.
Sims wrote, “I want to recognize the doctors and nurses who must deliver this kind of heartbreaking news every day. It has to be the hardest part of their job.”
What makes Sims’ openness meaningful is that most people process this kind of grief privately, without ever speaking publicly about it. She has spoken before about how these struggles too often happen in silence, and her willingness to keep talking, even months later, is what gives her platform its weight.
Sims and Koepka welcomed their first child, Crew Sims Koepka, in July 2023, six weeks ahead of schedule via emergency C-section. Now two years old and by all accounts keeping his parents on their toes, Crew is clearly a bright spot in what has been a heavy season for the family.
When asked how she was doing in the same Q&A, she replied, “I’m really excited for the tournament this week! Work is good, the relationship is great, and the Crew is a veryyy fun age. Lots to be thankful for.”
Grief and gratitude, it turns out, can coexist. “There is no timeline or rulebook for healing,” Sims has said in the past while she broke her abortion. “If I can make one woman feel less lonely by sharing, then I’ve done my job.” By most measures, she already has.
Well, that’s not the only thing she talked about in that session. Jena Sims gave a glimpse into her personal life.
Sims shares candid snapshots of home life with Brooks Koepka and Crew
Jena Sims’ answers to the Q&A went beyond her grief and offered a glimpse into her daily life with her son, Crew, and husband, Brooks Koepka. She said that her work is steady, her relationship is strong, and Crew is happy, which shows that she is making emotional progress while balancing her responsibilities as a mother, a career, and life on the PGA Tour.
She also talked about fun times with her kids, like when she taught Crew to say “Dawgs,” which she called “adorable.” Her response, along with an honest note about not having the energy to scroll through clips, showed how unfiltered she is as a mother. She is always tired and funny, even though she has a busy public schedule.
Another fan interaction showed how Koepka is at home. Sims said, “He’s the best.” “Choose your husbands wisely,” which is a common theme in her posts, shows that she is a hands-on parent. The comment put their relationship in a positive light while she was still dealing with the loss of her pregnancy and the public’s attention.
That help has become public. When Sims was trolled online for a bikini photo, Brooks Koepka stood up for her, pushing back against the mean comments and saying he respected her choices. Their relationship shows clear support for each other through both good and bad times.

Brooks Koepka is back on the PGA Tour, but not everyone is rolling out the welcome mat, sparking a firestorm that has the Tour’s new CEO in the crosshairs. The recent one comes in the column, “The Undercover Pro: How a lot of us feel about Brooks coming back,” written by an anonymous PGA Tour Pro in Golf Digest, the waters have only become muddier.
“Another thing that I do find annoying is the inflated ‘money lost’ aspect of Brooks’ penalty. We’ve been told Brooks is surrendering upward of $90 million by coming back. Some of that is real cash with known values for FedEx Cup bonuses and charity donations, but a lot of it is theoretical in player equity. Sorry to roll my eyes, but remember the nine figures he already pocketed for playing three years at LIV? That $90 million number is an insult to our intelligence,” the column noted.
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Under the Returning Member Program, Koepka faces a $5 million charitable donation and a five-year forfeiture of potential equity grants. He also cannot get sponsor exemptions for signature events. While the Tour projects these losses between $50-$90 million, these are future earnings and not certain to happen. Contrarily, Koepka pocketed a signing bonus exceeding $100 million in 2022 from LIV. Additionally, he made approximately $60-70M during his time there.
For a golfer whose future was already uncertain with the ongoing changes of the PGA Tour’s scarcity model and only more affected by this sudden homecoming, a penalty comprised of unearned, theoretical future equity only looks good on paper but doesn’t equate to the actual liquid capital Koepka had already secured from LIV. And here all credit goes to the Tour Commissioner Brian Rolapp.
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“However, I give Brian Rolapp [PGA Tour CEO] credit here. Why? If reunification ever materializes, the biggest challenge will be managing how LIV guys return. Many won’t have status, so how do you bring them back without inherently punishing those who stayed loyal? We don’t really need anyone from LIV Golf except for a handful of players. Rolapp’s advantage is that he’s new and can remake things as he sees fit.”
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The PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger has been long pending, with no real updates for a substantial time. The chances for it to ever get real are low, honestly, but if it does, now the Tour has a pathway (subject to change, probably after the merger) for LIV golfers like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm to return.
Now, if the same decision had been taken under the leadership of the former commissioner Jay Monahan, according to the pro, who was often seen as reactive and intent on trying to appease every faction during the LIV uprising, Brooks would still be in limbo, but Rolapp wanted Brooks, so he got Brooks.
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But not everyone shares Rolapp’s enthusiasm for a frictionless return or still feels the same about Koepka’s smooth return. Wyndham Clark expressed his thoughts strongly.
“If you would have told me that I could have gone for a year and a half, made a boatload of money, and then been able to come back and play on the tour, I think almost everyone would have done that.”
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Analyst Brandel Chamblee was also vocal. Chamblee previously argued that allowing a ‘frictionless’ return for Koepka undermines the meritocratic foundation of the Tour. He also added that Koepka was a marquee legitimizer of LIV. And allowing him to return without severe consequences sends a message that goes against the Tour. So he initially argued for a suspension or a requirement for Koepka to re-qualify through the Korn Ferry Tour or Monday Q’s.
Many pros have publicly accepted or even welcomed Koepka’s return, too.
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Not everyone has a problem with Brooks Koepka’s return
For instance, Billy Horschel stated he had no problem with it. Other veterans, such as Fred Couples and Max Homa, took to social media with simple welcoming messages like “Welcome home” and “Welcome back, Brooks!”
A large number of fans have also been remarkably positive. At the Farmers Insurance Open, Koepka was greeted with significant enthusiasm rather than heckling. His wife, Jena Sims, also responded recently about the positive welcome back of the five-time major champion.
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“Extremely positive. People have been 100% welcoming, from a wife’s standpoint, and also people in the gallery,” Sims said.
Even the most influential voice in the game, Tiger Woods, has recently weighed in on the situation. During recent discussions at the Genesis Invitational regarding the Tour’s upcoming scarcity model and competitive structure, Woods described Koepka’s return as a win for everyone. He emphasized that fans demanded the best players compete together. And here they have that with a world-class talent like Koepka back in the field alongside Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.
In the end, the identity of the ‘Undercover Pro’ remains a mystery. But with some more days passing, we are likely to see more direct comments from golfers, perhaps with names attached. For now, 5x major winner is set to play at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches.

It’s been more than 150 days since Justin Thomas played competitively on a golf course. His herniated disc surgery is all healed, and he is set to return at the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational, but it won’t be without challenges.
“A course, really, like any, is the adjustment. But I would say it’ll just be a lot of little stuff,” Thomas told the media. “I’ve been able to practice pretty normally for at least a month, I feel like, or maybe not quite that much, so I’m trying to play a lot more. But I’ll still run into situations I haven’t been in in a while. It was my first time playing, hitting it in a fairway bunker, and I haven’t hit a fairway bunker shot in like four months or something. Just trying to play and get out there as often as I can.”
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Throughout the 2025 season, Thomas battled what he initially thought to be a nagging issue with his right hip. He first noticed the discomfort in the weeks leading up to the Masters, but he broke a three-year winless drought at the RBC Heritage in April 2025. His victory and eight top-10 finishes allowed him to take a break and not compete in the fall. But the physical toll was mounting.
After the 2025 Ryder Cup in September, the symptoms worsened, which led to an MRI that revealed a herniated disc in his lower spine. After a surgery in November 2025, Thomas was placed under strict “BLT” restrictions (no bending, lifting, or twisting). So, he had to miss the start of the 2026 season to heal.
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Thomas shared updates during this period, emphasizing the patience and advice he got from Jim Furyk.
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“No one has ever come back from an injury too late,” Furyk told him.
By January 2026, he began building back strength in the gym and hitting short irons, eventually receiving official clearance for all golf activity in February. Now, as Thomas prepares for his return, he understands that nearly five months have passed since he last felt the pressure of competitive golf. And he is not entering Bay Hill with the immediate expectation of a victory. Instead, he views next week as a vital step to regain his form.
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This measured approach also comes from his mixed results at Bay Hill. Thomas finished T36 with a 3-over-par total last season here, and his best recent result at the event was a T12 finish in 2024. The only comfort Thomas finds in his return is that Bay Hill Club & Lodge is designed to test the entire field, not just those coming off surgery.
“But at least everybody else will be struggling with me at Bay Hill, so that’ll make me feel a little bit better, hopefully,” Thomas noted.
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Bay Hill is one of the toughest stops on the PGA Tour. In 2025, Russell Henley won the event with just a score of 11-under par, narrowly beating Collin Morikawa. And several others, like Viktor Hovland, Max Homa, Sahith Theegala, and Min Woo Lee, missed the cuts. The 2026 field remains equally deep.
But it is not just Thomas’s return to the API field in 2026 that’s catching all the attention. Jordan Spieth is also back in the field after a tumultuous year involving eligibility fights.
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Will Justin Thomas’s return be outshined by Jordan Spieth’s exemption drama?
In 2025, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler finished beyond the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings and needed help to enter the tournament. They both wrote formal letters to the API committee asking for a chance to play, but they were famously denied sponsor exemptions into the API field.
The reactions to that snub were starkly different from Fowler and Spieth. Rickie Fowler took a humble stance, simply saying, “Play better… play well, and that’ll take care of it.” Spieth, however, offered a frosty response.
“I’m bummed not to be there next week. It’s been a great, great place for me, and I really wish I was getting that start, but I needed to play better injured golf last year, I guess,” Spieth said.
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Fast forward to 2026, and the situation has shifted. Rickie Fowler earned his way back on merit. He finished the 2025 season ranked 48th in the FedExCup after a T6 finish at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, securing his spot in all 2026 Signature Events. Jordan Spieth, however, remains in the same precarious position. After finishing 61st in the 2025 FedEx Cup standings, he once again missed the eligibility criteria.

Tiger Woods confirmed his relationship with Vanessa Trump in March 2025. And he did it on his terms: one post, two photos, and one request for privacy. For nearly a year, that held. Then the 2026 Genesis Invitational happened, and for only the second time since going public, Woods, Vanessa, and Kai were all in the same frame.
Journalist John Zeigler shared a clip on X where we could see Woods, Vanessa, and Kai clicking pictures at the $20 million event. It was initially the couple in love in the frame, smiling ear to ear, with Vanessa leaning in. Kai joined them seconds later. John even quipped that Woods could get a Grand Old Party ticket for 2036, given his relationship with the Trumps, both Vanessa and POTUS.
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This was not the first time the three had been spotted together at this specific tournament. Back in February 2025, at the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines, Tiger Woods arrived with Kai Trump at his side, and Vanessa was seen nearby. It was one of the earliest confirmed signs that what had been a rumored connection around Thanksgiving 2024 had quietly grown into something real, as reported by People magazine at the time.
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That sighting set the tone for what followed. In January 2026, both Vanessa and Kai attended Woods’s 50th birthday charity event in Palm Beach, Florida. Kai shared photos on Instagram from the night, dressed for the occasion and visibly part of the inner circle. The event supported the golfer’s charitable work through the TGR Foundation and was not a casual appearance.
The support has not been limited to in-person appearances. In February 2026, when Woods posted about the 20th anniversary of the TGR Learning Lab in Anaheim, which has served over 217,000 students, Vanessa did not comment. She simply liked the post shared by the official TGR Learning Labs handle, showing quiet support, consistent with how she has operated throughout this relationship.
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When Woods celebrated Jacob Bridgeman’s win as the Genesis Invitational’s 100th champion on Instagram, Vanessa was among the first to respond. She liked the post and reshared it, a small but deliberate act that did not go unnoticed by those following the couple closely.
Vanessa’s deflection and Tiger Woods’ own words together paint a couple that is serious but deliberately keeping its boundaries intact.
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Tiger Woods, Vanessa, and the moments nobody scheduled
In a Valentine’s Day YouTube video posted February 15, 2026, Kai invited Vanessa to decorate cookies while slipping in fan questions about the relationship. Vanessa dodged it cheekily, telling Kai that she wasn’t born yesterday.
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That same video had another moment worth noting. Kai revealed that Vanessa has beaten her at putting more than once. Vanessa, who describes herself as a tennis player rather than a golfer, admitted she spends a lot of time practicing her putting.
That connection between Woods and Kai has gone beyond casual family interaction. Before her LPGA debut at The ANNIKA in November 2025, Woods told her to just go with the flow and not overthink it.
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All these moments, and the moment at Riviera, were not planned. It was simply the latest sign of something that has been building steadily for over a year.

LOS ANGELES — Jacob Bridgeman heard cheers all day long for everyone but himself Sunday at Riviera until the final ovation. He made a nervy par putt on the 18th hole for a 1-over 72 and a most narrow victory in the Genesis Invitational for his first PGA Tour title.
Bridgeman started with a six-shot lead, and expanded it to seven shots with 12 holes remaining. And it still came down to one clutch swing from the 18th fairway that settled 20 feet below the hole, and a 3-foot par putt with his shadow over the hole.
But he calmly knocked it in for a one-shot victory over Rory McIlroy and Kurt Kitayama, who both had a strong finishing kick to make Bridgeman sweat a lot more than he wanted.
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“This is way, way better than I’ve ever dreamt it,” Bridgeman said.
Not since Adam Scott in 2005 has a player competed at Riviera for the first time and left with the trophy. Bridgeman, a 26-year-old from Clemson, played well enough last year to reach the Tour Championship and has been steadily on the rise.
He broke through in a signature event against a strong field, winning $4 million and having host Tiger Woods waiting to congratulate him atop the steps overlooking the 18th green.
Bridgeman finished at 18-under 266 and didn’t make a birdie over the final 15 holes. He heard constant cheers for McIlroy, one of golf’s most popular figures who was never a threat until he holed a bunker shot for birdie on the 12th and finished birdie-birdie for a 67.
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More cheers soon rang out across Riviera — Max Greyserman with a hole-in-one on the 14th; Tommy Fleetwood jarring one for eagle from the fairway on the 15th; and Kitayama stuffing his tee shot on the par-3 16th, and then barely clearing the bunker to set up a two-putt birdie on the par-5 17th.
Bridgeman, after a marvelous approach to 12 feet for birdie on the third hole that received only a smattering of applause from the LA crowd, didn’t play poorly. He hit a strong chip on the fourth that led to bogey. The rest of the way was a steady diet of 20-foot birdie chances.
But he found the bunker on the 16th and had to make a 5-foot bogey putt to stay in the lead. His birdie chances on the 17th and 18th were woefully short on greens where short putts can be scary.
The last par putt brought a mixture of joy and relief.
“I thought it was going to be a lot easier,” Bridgeman said. “It was honestly easy until I got to 16 and then it got really hard. I made it as hard as I could have made it.”
Scott, who received a sponsor exemption, ran off five birdies on the back nine and closed with a 63 to finish fourth, two shots behind.
Scottie Scheffler, who had to make a 7-foot par putt on Friday to make the cut, had a 66-65 weekend and wound up tied for 12th, his worst finish since he tied for 20th at The Players Championship nearly a year ago. He ended his streak of 18 consecutive top 10s.
Bridgeman already is in the Masters from having reached the Tour Championship last year. He became the first player this year to be ranked outside the top 50 (No. 52) and win on the PGA Tour. The victory propels him inside the top 25.
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He won not only at a storied course like Riviera but with McIlroy, the Masters champion, alongside and getting most of the attention until falling off the pace until his big finish. So many putts burned the edge, and then the last one dropped from 30 feet.
For a second, it looked like it might give McIlroy extra holes in a playoff when Bridgeman left his first putt short. But just like he has all week, Bridgeman never looked uncomfortable. Turns out he felt that way.
“I couldn’t even feel my hands on the last couple greens,” Bridgeman said. “I just hit the putt hoping it would get somewhere near the hole, and both of them I left a mile short. But I’m glad it’s done now.”

The West Coast swing of the PGA Tour is over, as Jacob Bridgeman has won the Genesis Invitational. The South Carolina native picked up his first win on the tour with a score of 18-under, one shot better than Kurt Kitayama and Rory McIlroy
Bridgeman played in the final group on Sunday alongside McIlroy, holding a six-shot lead coming into Sunday. As competitors made birdies all around him, the youngster made a lot of pars. So while he did not blow away from the field, he stayed just far enough away to prevent a collapse. A bogey on 16 and a poor second shot on 17 could have done him in, but he remained composed to secure the one-shot victory.
Bridgeman was in the second-to-last group at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am a week ago, finishing tied for eighth. He found the beach on the 18th hole and held up the eventual winner, Collin Morikawa, by about 20 minutes while figuring out the rules situation. But the 26-year-old buried it quickly to pick up his first win.
Bridgeman qualified for the PGA Tour Signature Events by making the Tour Championship last year. Taking advantage of those starts is key to his future on the Tour and staying in the big-money events. A win will go a long way to getting him back to East Lake in August.
How the leaderboard shaped up behind Jacob Bridgeman
McIlroy returned to the first page of the leaderboard after a sluggish performance at Pebble Beach. A first-round 66 and a second-round 65, all while working around weather delays, got him near the top. But he was not able to hit the gas on the weekend, putting him in a tie for second place at 17-under par.
A late charge from Kitayama put Bridgeman in danger of blowing his lead on Sunday. Birdies on 10, 11, 16, and 17 put him within one of the lead. But he ran out of holes, making par on 18 after a poor iron shot to finish at 17-under par. Second place is his best finish since last year’s 3M Open, which he won. Adam Scott at 16-under and Aldrich Potgieter at 15-under make up the remainder of the top five.
Scottie Scheffler finished tied for 11th place, ending his incredible streak of top-ten finishes at 19. He ended Thursday’s play in last place, which put him too far behind the 8-Ball for the remainder of the week.
The PGA Tour heads back east for the Cognizant Classic at PGA National in Jupiter, Florida. The Florida swing ends with The Players Championship in mid-March.

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — The moans announced the doubt throughout Riviera’s 18th green amphitheater, a bowl full of thousands of fans unsure if the new guy could do it. Could Jacob Bridgeman hear the roars for Rory McIlroy’s 30-foot make and still finish? A seven-shot lead had become four, which became one, which meant this 26-year-old native of Inman and a Greenville resident would either exit this stage with an epic first career win or an all-time heartbreak.
The crowd supported the former Clemson star all day, but when he left that 20-foot birdie putt so short, they saw the possibilities. McIlroy, beloved superstar, pulling off the epic comeback. That’s what they wanted to see. That’s the Hollywood ticket.
But the shockingly self-assured Bridgeman took a beat to himself, set up, and made the 4-foot par putt. His first PGA Tour win arrived at one of golf’s greatest venues with Tiger Woods watching atop the hill.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jacob Bridgeman heard cheers all day long for everyone but himself Sunday at Riviera until the final ovation. He made a nervy par putt on the 18th hole for a 1-over 72 and a most narrow victory in the Genesis Invitational for his first PGA Tour title.
Bridgeman started with a six-shot lead. He expanded it to seven shots with 12 holes remaining. And it still came down to one clutch swing from the 18th fairway that settled 20 feet below the hole, and a 3-foot par putt with his shadow over the hole.
But he calmly knocked it in for a one-shot victory over Rory McIlroy and Kurt Kitayama, who both had a strong finishing kick to make Bridgeman sweat a lot more than he wanted.
Not since Adam Scott in 2005 has a player competed at Riviera for the first time and left with the trophy. Bridgeman, a 26-year-old from Clemson, played well enough last year to reach the Tour Championship.
Bridgeman finished at 18-under 266 and didn’t make a birdie over the final 15 holes. He broke through in a signature event against a strong field, winning $4 million and having host Tiger Woods waiting to congratulate him atop the steps overlooking the 18th green.
LPGA Tour
CHONBURI, Thailand (AP) — Jeeno Thitikul closed with a 4-under 68 to hold off Chizzy Iwai of Japan on Sunday and win the Honda LPGA Thailand, the first time for the No. 1 player in women’s golf to win in her home country.
Buoyed by raucous home support, the Thai star kept her composure under sweltering conditions and intense pressure, pulling ahead with a birdie on the 17th hole. She won by one shot and finished at 24-under 264 for her eighth LPGA title.
Thitikul became the third Thai winner of the tournament, following Ariya Jutanugarn in 2021 and Patty Tavatanakit in 2024.
Iwai mounted a strong challenge, drawing level briefly after rolling in her second eagle of the day on the par-5 10th. But she closed with eight pars for a 66.
European tour
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — South Africa’s Casey Jarvis closed with an 8-under 62 and won the Kenya Open by three shots on Sunday to clinch his first title on the European tour.
Jarvis, who had two titles on the Sunshine Tour, had two eagles in the final round at Karen Country Club and shot 30 on the back nine to pull away. He had shared the lead after each of the first three rounds with different players until he took over down the stretch.
American Davis Bryant, who played his college golf at Colorado State, was runner-up after a 64. Hennie Du Plessis (65) of South Africa was third.
Other tours
Oliver Bekker of South Africa closed with a 5-under 67 for a two-shot victory in the Jonsson Workwear Durban Open, his ninth career title on the Sunshine Tour. The tournament, co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour, was reduced to 54 holes when the third round was washed out. … Austen Truslow won for the first time when the 30-year-old Floridian closed with a 3-under 67 for a three-shot victory in the Quinovic NZ PGA Championship on the PGA Tour of Australasia. Cooper Moore, a 17-year-old amateur, finished second. … Jamie Donaldson rallied with an 8-under 64 for a one-shot victory over Stephen Gallacher in the Staysure Marbella Legends in Spain.
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Jordan Spieth just said something the PGA Tour would rather not have on record. Not the part about momentum heading into Bay Hill, or the technical breakthrough with his putting stroke. The part where he admitted, with unusual candor, that he never wanted the exemption that got him through the door in the first place.
“I don’t want to use exemptions,” Spieth said following his T12 finish at Riviera. “I don’t want to ever have to use that again. It’s sucked the last couple of years.”
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That admission lands at a specific moment: Spieth has accepted a sponsor exemption into the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, a $20 million Signature Event he cannot access on merit, and his own words confirm he understands the difference between walking through an open door and earning the right to open it.
The facts are clear. Spieth is ranked 82nd in the world, outside the top-30 needed for automatic entry into Signature Events. His FedEx Cup position is around 70th, below the top-50 cutoff. In 2025, he received five sponsor exemptions, which accounted for 29% of his total FedEx Cup points, yet he still finished 54th and missed automatic qualification for 2026. Despite not winning last season, he earned $4.5 million from the Player Impact Program, which helps explain why sponsors continue to invite him.
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The Bay Hill exemption shows how inconsistent these decisions can be. Spieth didn’t get an exemption in 2025 but did a year later. Other players, like Robert Garrigus, have voiced frustration about how exemptions are handed out. Spieth defended himself by saying tournaments invite players who help their event.
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Beyond the debate about exemptions, there’s also a technical side to Spieth’s story. Between the Sony Open and WM Phoenix Open, he went back to Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas to work with his longtime coach, Cameron McCormick. They focused on a setup adjustment, even though the conditions were, as Spieth put it, “frozen.”
As a result, Spieth brought back a putting stroke his peers hadn’t seen from him in years.
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“Looking at my spot, like looking at the hole, it seems to be a weapon that I’ve got back,” he said. “You start as close to the hole as you can, and everything that feels comfortable just keeps going further and further away all the way into the long game.”
This technique, which relies on his sense of body position, helped Spieth win the 2015 Masters and U.S. Open. At Pebble Beach, he was third in Strokes Gained: Putting among the Signature Event players. At Riviera, he finished T12 at -11, with rounds of 67-70-70-70, nine birdies, and a final-round eagle.
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“I feel very confident,” he said. “I like the stretch that’s coming up.”
Spieth’s case is just the latest example of a larger issue the PGA Tour has not addressed. The system for exemptions remains unclear and open to criticism.
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Jordan Spieth’s exemption debate exposes a structural problem the PGA Tour won’t address
Rickie Fowler was given six sponsor exemptions into Signature Events in 2025, one more than Jordan Spieth, which drew heavy criticism at the time. Fowler earned 319 of his 665 FedEx Cup points from those starts, nearly half his season total.
Fowler, with his extra exemption, finished 48th, just inside the top-50 cutoff for 2026 Signature Event access. He then backed it up with strong results, finishing T7 at the Memorial and T6 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
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The route Fowler took is still open to any player with enough commercial pull and the right connections. Chris Kirk, who got no exemptions, finished 51st on merit alone. He missed the cutoff by two spots, while Fowler crossed it with help from exemptions, doing almost half the work.
The Tour has not addressed this imbalance. Spieth, to his credit, has now said publicly what the institution will not.

On one of the most historic golf courses in the world, Jacob Bridgeman made some history of his own Sunday afternoon at Riviera Country Club.
Two months and three days after getting married, the 26-year-old from South Carolina has another memory to last a lifetime after winning for the first time on the PGA Tour and threatening the tournament scoring record at the Genesis Invitational.
“To do it against this field is way, way better than I’ve ever dreamt,” said Bridgeman, who prevailed by a single shot over Kurt Kitayama and Rory McIlroy. “Fans were super supportive all day and winning at this course is a dream come true. I grew up watching this on TV.”
Beginning the final round with a six-stroke lead, Bridgeman birdied the first and third holes to take a seven-shot lead and send an early message to the other 50 players that he would be tough to catch. He carded a one-over-par 72 to finish at 18 under for a four-day total of 266 — two off the 72-hole standard achieved at the 1985 Los Angeles Open by Lanny Wadkins, who won by seven shots with rounds of 63, 70, 67 and 64.
Wadkins’ record-setting performance 41 years ago earned him $72,000 and made him the ninth golfer to earn more than $2 million in his career. Bridgeman pocketed $4 million on Sunday while Sepp Straka and Brian Harman split the last-place share of $51,000.
Making Bridgeman’s accomplishment even more remarkable is the fact that he had never played Riviera before. What he lacked in experience he more than made up for with instinct, ingenuity and poise, especially during a crucial stretch of eight consecutive pars from holes eight through 15 on Sunday to become the tournament’s 100th champion.
“I didn’t play golf on Monday or Tuesday because of the weather and I just was a little bit worn out.” he said. “I played my pro-am Wednesday and kind of just had a casual round and let my caddie point me around. It wasn’t a whole lot of practice. I feel like I got my first kind of learning experience of the course Thursday and on Friday everything was a lot more familiar. I knew where some slopes were and where the tee shot lines were, so I started feeling a little more comfortable.”
Bridgeman, who had a stellar college career at Clemson (setting a school record with 50 career rounds in the 60s) before turning pro in 2022, was so dialed in with the putter Friday while grouped with Akshay Bhatia and Maverick McNealy that Bhatia’s caddie Joe Greiner asked him on No. 17: “Are you sure you’re not from the West Coast?”
The last player to notch his first PGA Tour victory at Riviera was James Hahn, who beat Dustin Johnson and Paul Casey in a playoff in the 2015 Northern Trust Open.
“This morning I let myself think about winning and everything was under control but guys started making runs and it got a little tighter than I wanted it too,” Bridgeman said. “This is one of the coolest places I could’ve done it.”
Ludvig Aberg of Sweden, winner of last year’s Genesis at Torrey Pines, tied for 20th at nine-under after a final-round 66.
The day before, Bridgeman matched the tournament’s 54-hole scoring record of 194 set four years ago by Joaquin Niemann, who went on to shoot even par in the final round to win by two strokes at 19 under.
As solid as Bridgeman was playing the first three rounds, eclipsing Wadkins’ record seemed almost inevitable. Instead, he had to have nerves of steel to par the last two holes and preserve the win.
Bridgeman stumbled with bogeys at No. 4 and No. 7 and was wary of two-time Riviera champion Adam Scott, who leapfrogged into second alongside McIlroy, Kitayama and Aldrich Potgieter after beginning the back nine with back-to-back birdies. He narrowed the margin to three with back-to-back birdies at the 17th and 18th to cap his second 63 in three days and finished alone in fourth at 16 under.
“It’s fun to make birdie at the 18th with this amphitheater,” Scott said. “Today I didn’t have my best and still had a great score.”
History has proven that no lead is safe on Sunday at Riviera. The last time it was played there in 2024 Hideki Matsuyama of Japan overcame a six-shot deficit to win by three shots after firing a 62 — the lowest final round score ever on the course.
“The pins were a lot more challenging than the first three days,” Bridgeman said. “They were harder to get to. For the putts on 17 and 18 I had no idea how hard to hit them.”
Kitayama, who started the final round nine shots behind, nearly pulled off an even bigger comeback, pulling to within one shot when he rolled in a 32-foot birdie at No. 17, and Bridgeman bogeyed No. 16 to drop to 18 under.
Ken Venturi staged the biggest final-round comeback in tournament history, shooting a 63 to erase an eight-shot deficit at Rancho Park in 1959.
McIlroy hit his 30-foot birdie putt just hard enough to fall at the famed 18th green to move into a second-place tie with Kitayama. Then, with tournament host Tiger Woods watching, Bridgeman nervously left his birdie putt three feet short but made his par and the crowd roared.
“I thought it would be a lot easier,” Bridgeman admitted. “It was easy until the 16th, then I made it harder. I was crazy nervous on that five-footer for bogey. I couldn’t feel my hands the last two greens.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was tied for last after the first day and barely made the cut at even par but played the last two rounds in 11 under par to finish tied for 12th.

Jacob Bridgeman won the 2026 Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club, which also celebrated its 100th anniversary. It is also his first career victory on the PGA Tour. Winning for the first time on Tour is always special, and when it comes with multiple other records at one of golf’s most iconic venues, it is just the cherry on top.
Here are the three new records Jacob Bridgeman set with his breakthrough win.
Shattering the ceiling at Riviera
Riviera Country Club is famous for its challenging greens that are notoriously difficult to approach. Over the previous 10 years, players have managed to hit only about 18% of their approach shots to within 15 feet of the hole. Jacob Bridgeman completely dismantled this benchmark, hitting his approach shots to 15 feet or closer 33% of the time (more than double) during his winning week.
To understand more clearly, only very few players have ever reached this level of ‘flag-hunting’ in a single tournament. One of the few to exceed Bridgeman’s mark recently was Collin Morikawa.
The 29-year-old gained 6.46 shots on the field with his approach play during his win at the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am just weeks prior. In the past, Tiger Woods also came close during his dominant 2006 win at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
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Before arriving at Riviera, Bridgeman was already a good iron player, but it wasn’t that kind of dominance. The Riviera was really special for the 26-year-old golfer!
Joining the elite club
Jacob Bridgeman became just the fourth player in the ShotLink era (since 2004) to win a PGA Tour event while leading the entire field in both Strokes Gained: Approach and Strokes Gained: Putting.
In simple terms, Strokes Gained: Approach measures how much better a player’s iron and wedge shots are compared to the rest of the field. If most players in the field take three shots to finish from the fairway and you hit it need only two, you will gain a stroke. And Strokes Gained: Putting measures how many shots you save on the greens by making longer putts.
Bridgeman now shares this record with three other legendary names-
Adam Scott (2004 Booz Allen)- Scott is the first one to do it in the ShotLink era.
Steve Flesch (2007 Turning Stone)
Keegan Bradley (2023 Travelers)-Bradley posted +7.288 in approach and +7.036 in putting
Now Bridgeman’s name comes fourth in this list.
A historic debut
Most importantly, Jacob Bridgeman won The Genesis Invitational in his 66th career start at the age of 26 years, 2 months, and 16 days. In doing so, he became the 13th first-time winner in the tournament’s long history and the first since James Hahn in 2015.
Even more impressive, Bridgeman won in his tournament debut, becoming the first player since Pat Fitzsimons in 1975.
The weight of this achievement was visible during the post-tournament interview with Amanda Balionis.
“This is way, way better than I’ve ever dreamt it. I made it about as hard as I could have made it, making it one shot and having to make a three-footer at the end. But yeah, this is incredible,” he said.
Bridgeman’s victory comes after a season of building momentum. He entered the week with four straight top-20 finishes, including a T8 at Pebble Beach. And now, this win propelled him to the No. 1 spot in the FedExCup standings and secured his PGA Tour playing privileges for the next two seasons.

PACIFIC PALISADES — After making a birdie on the par-4, third hole in Sunday’s final round of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, Jacob Bridgeman found himself seven shots clear of his closest competitor.
So, it was unlikely that Bridgeman or anyone else watching the event could have imagined that the second-year professional would need to sink a three-foot par putt on Riviera’s historic 18th hole to hold on for a one-shot victory over Kurt Kitayama and Rory McIlroy, earning him his first PGA Tour victory.
Bridgeman finished at 18-under 266 after a final round 1-over 71. Kitayama, who started the day nine shots behind Bridgeman, put on a strong charge on Sunday, firing a 7-under 64 to finish at 17 under. McIlroy, who again struggled with his putting, still managed to shoot a 4-under 67, capping off his round with a long birdie putt to tie for Kitayama for second. Adam Scott, who shot 8-an under 63 on Friday to vault into contention, came back with another 63 on Sunday to finish fourth at 16 under.
“I thought it was going to be a lot easier than that,” Bridgeman said about winning on Sunday. “I didn’t really feel really crazy nervous until I had a five-footer for bogey on 16; that one was sketchy. I hit a really good putt and luckily it went in, and then I was really nervous from there on out. I couldn’t even feel my hands on the last couple greens. I just hit the putt hoping it would get somewhere near the hole, and both of them I left a mile short, but I’m glad it’s done now.”
Bridgeman admitted when he woke up Sunday morning, he allowed himself to think about what it would be like to win the tournament, but that realization also led to some nerves that he carried to the course.
The second-year pro felt he had everything under control as he prepared to start his round. He even envisioned walking up 18 with a four-shot lead and being able to soak in the moment. But that dream went out the window over the last few holes, and as he played 1,8 he was forced to keep his head down and focus on hitting his next shot.
“I was very comfortable hitting full shots all day,” Bridgeman said. “I felt like I was just kind of in robot mode and autopilot. I could just swing the club, and it would do exactly what it’s supposed to do. But when it got to times when I had to have it rely on my feel (late in the round), I didn’t have much of it. In the future, I don’t think it will get any easier than having a six-shot lead to hold onto to win, so I’ve got to figure out how to make that gap bigger to finish the day.”
When you fall just two shots short of matching the all-time tournament scoring record of 264 held by Lanny Wadkins, it’s a good bet that all aspects of your game worked well, and that was the case for Bridgeman. But if one aspect stood out more than others, it was Bridgeman’s iron play, which was so sharp he led the field in strokes gained on approach.
“I’ve never led the field in Strokes Gained: Approach ever,” Bridgeman said. “I’ve probably never been close. I’ve done putting before, I’m always good at that, but I’ve never come close with approach. We’ve (he and his swing coach) have got it to a place where it’s very consistent, and that’s kind of changed my game.
Being six shots down to start the round, McIlroy knew he needed to try to put some early pressure on Bridgeman if he wanted to have a chance to chip away at the deficit. He gave himself plenty of chances, but like the previous round, he struggled with the break of the Riviera greens and failed to convert most of his birdie putts.
“I just kept plugging away and trying to make something happen,” McIlroy said. “I holed some putts on the back nine, which is nice, but I’ll rue basically all 18 holes yesterday and then the front nine today, like 27 holes where I failed to capitalize on the chances I gave myself.”
Having a front row seat to watch Bridgeman work toward his first PGA Tour win, McIlroy said he was impressed by how the former Clemson standout handled himself: “I thought he handled everything really well.”
“I wasn’t putting pressure on him; it probably felt to him like he didn’t need to do that much, but he played very well,” McIlroy said. “I was surprised he was only even par because I felt he was very much in control of his golf ball. He drove it great, and he hit his irons well. But it’s hard, it’s hard to close out big tournaments. Even though he was a little shaky coming down the stretch, he held it together when he needed to. I give him all the props; he did what he needed to do and I’m happy for him.”
Bridgeman said one of the coolest aspects about winning the Genesis Invitational was receiving the trophy and congratulations from Tiger Woods, who Bridgeman called the greatest golfer in history. Bridgeman said knowing Woods was the one to be waiting to shake the winner’s hand made things a little bit more nerve-racking because his youngest golf memory was watching him on TV.
As they walked down the stairs behind the 18th green to get to the trophy ceremony on the green, Woods pointed out to Bridgeman what a cool scene the natural amphitheater provides for the final hole.
“He was saying kind of how amazing the 18th hole is here and how cool it is to win here,” Bridgeman said. “And he said, you’ve got one on me. I guess he’s never won (at Riviera). So, I got one thing on him. He’s got all the other ones, but I got one.”
Deja Vu Scheffler Style
Scottie Scheffler did it again. For the third straight week, the World’s No. 1-ranked golfer opened a tournament with a terrible opening round but somehow managed to rally over the ensuing three days to either put himself in contention or finish around the Top 10.
After Thursday’s first round of the Genesis Invitational, Scheffler was in 63rd place at 3 over par. After fighting to make the cut on Friday, Scheffler played the final two rounds at 11 under, leaving him in a tie for 11th for the event.
“After Thursday, I did some pretty good stuff,” Scheffler said. “I battled just to make the cut, and I had two solid dates over the weekend. It was really challenging going out there, starting the way we did on Thursday and then I start off the way I did. Maybe I pressed a little bit. But after that, I did a lot of solid stuff.”
While Scheffler would prefer to come out of the gates in the future, his first-round slumps are not a huge cause for concern for him.
“When you look at it like from a macro view, it’s such a small sample size,” Scheffler said. “I played now 11 rounds the last few weeks, and I had eight pretty solid ones and three I’d like to have back. So overall, I feel like my game is in a good spot. Got a few things that I need to clean up, but I feel I’m continuing to trend in the right direction.”
Rory’s Return to Augusta
The Masters is still six weeks away, but defending champion Rory McIlroy is already starting to think about his triumphant return to Augusta National, starting with when he plans to arrive and what he will do when he does get there.
“I’ll probably get up there Saturday, walk around and watch the final round of the ANWA (Augusta National Women’s Amateur),” McIlroy said. “I’ll be a part of the Drive, Chip & Putt in some way, which I’m really excited about.”
In the afternoon, McIlroy will play with his father and enjoy strolling around the course, remembering his final round from a year ago that ended with him becoming the sixth player in PGA Tour history to win the career grand slam. A few days later, he will serve as host for the Champions dinner.
While McIlroy’s struggles on the Riviera greens dominated the conversation about his play this week, McIlroy said his overall performance gives him confidence that his game is in great shape heading toward Augusta.
“I feel like my game’s in really good shape. I’m looking forward to getting on some Bermuda greens over the next couple weeks. But it’s feeling good, it’s feeling much better than it did in Dubai, which is a big step in the right direction. Just have to keep working.”
Riviera in August?
As organizers of the PGA Tour continue to talk about ways to improve the quality of the tour, one of the areas that has been discussed is the possible alteration of the schedule to hopefully get more attention for the season end Fed-Ex playoffs.
One of the ideas that has been kicked around is putting the playoff event in larger cities and more historic venues. That idea has led to talk of moving the Genesis Invitational from its traditional slot in February to a possible date in August.
Tournament host Tiger Woods, who is part of the PGA Tour committee to try to advance the success of the tour, said there are some good reasons to consider moving the event to the summer.
“Well, I think that one, you’re going to get weather not like this (rain like this week),” Woods said. “That’s number one. We’re going to have perfect days. It’s always perfect in So Cal here in August. We’re looking at things like that, looking to go to bigger markets later in the year for the playoffs. Just trying to make our competitive model better, and how do we do that? I think that is one of the options you mentioned with Genesis. That certainly is on the table.”
Adam Scott, who calls the Genesis Invitational one of his favorite stops on the schedule, said while an August date might mean firmer, faster conditions, he doesn’t care when the Genesis is held, just as long as it stays at Riviera.
“This tournament at any time of year is going to be great,” Scott said. “It’s got the history, and it’s got the venue. You know, it’s amazing the crowd shows up. I know it’s a big Metropolitan area, but I don’t think of L.A. as like golf fans, but they are. And I’ve always had great support here, but it’s a great vibe at Riviera and the L.A. Open, so happy as long as we’re coming back here anytime will be good.”

Rory McIlroy came to Riviera Country Club needing one win to reach 30 PGA Tour victories, and he left knowing exactly where that win went, not on Sunday, but across 27 holes of stagnant middle-round golf that handed Jacob Bridgeman the breathing room to claim his maiden Tour title at the 2026 Genesis Invitational.
Bridgeman finished at 18-under, with McIlroy and
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Kurt Kitayama one shot back at 17-under in a $20 million Signature Event hosted by Tiger Woods. But for McIlroy, the real turning point came well before the final stretch on Sunday.
“I’ll rue basically all 18 holes yesterday and then the front nine today, like 27 holes where I failed to capitalize on the chances I gave myself,” McIlroy said.
That is the key takeaway from the tournament. McIlroy finished Saturday with seven straight pars and a 69, while Bridgeman shot a 64, gaining 4.6 strokes on approach and building a six-shot lead by the end of the day. McIlroy’s inability to capitalize left Bridgeman with a margin that was about more than just ball-striking.
McIlroy knows what it means to hold a big lead. He has been in that position before and understands the pressure that comes with it.
“It’s hard. I think sometimes it’s harder when Jacob has a big lead, and I’m not doing anything to put pressure on him, so he sees that,” he said. “Like, I’ve had this before when I had a big lead, and the guy playing with me isn’t putting pressure on, and then the guys in front are.”
When the nearest rival is not making a move, the leader feels safer than the numbers show. Bridgeman played it safe with pars on the front nine. McIlroy missed his chances to close the gap. The six-shot lead stayed intact and was never really threatened.
What finally applied pressure on Bridgeman came from ahead of the final pairing rather than behind it. Adam Scott posted a Sunday 63 to set the early clubhouse target at 16-under. Kitayama made eight birdies in a 64, including one on the par-4 17th that trimmed Bridgeman’s lead to one shot with the closing holes remaining.
“Kurt did what he did, and Adam posted, and I started to make a couple of birdies,” McIlroy said, and the sequencing of that sentence contains its own summary.
The Northern Irishman finally responded with four birdies on the back nine, including two in a row on 17 and 18. That left Bridgeman needing to make a three-foot par putt on the last hole to win. He made it and took the title by one shot.
Bridgeman’s comfort under that closing pressure, however, was not coincidental, and it was not purely a product of Saturday’s ball-striking clinic.
Jacob Bridgeman’s 2026 Genesis Invitational victory reflected psychological steadiness built before Sunday
As reported ahead of Sunday’s final round, Bridgeman had already shared a final-pairing situation with McIlroy during the FedExCup Playoffs last season, a high-pressure round at the BMW Championship in Baltimore where Bridgeman needed a strong performance to secure his place at East Lake, with McIlroy alongside him throughout. That experience removed the novelty of Sunday’s dynamic entirely.
“I think if it was my first time, maybe it would be a little unsettling,” Bridgeman said. “But now I’m not worried about it.”
He had already shown in a key competitive setting that playing alongside McIlroy was something he could handle. He shot 72 on Sunday. A bogey on 16 cut his lead to one, but he still closed out the win.
“It was honestly easy until I got to the 16th, then it got really hard,” Bridgeman said.
The difficulty arrived late, which is precisely the point.
“I couldn’t feel my hands on the last few greens,” he added. “I hit that putt on 18 hoping it would get somewhere near the hole.”
The three-footer went in, and the tournament was his.
For McIlroy, the week showed his ball-striking is in good shape ahead of the Florida swing. He finished third in approach-to-green and fourth in strokes gained off the tee at the Genesis. Switching back to his usual blades after struggling with cavity-back irons in Dubai brought back the consistency he needed.
Pre-tournament coverage had noted that Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, between them, made 28 appearances at Riviera across their careers without winning the event, their combined 155 PGA Tour victories counting for nothing on this particular course in Pacific Palisades. McIlroy’s 30th win was not added to that historical footnote on Sunday.
“I feel like my game’s pretty much all there,” he said. “Looking forward to Bay Hill and THE PLAYERS.”
The 27 holes at Riviera, though, will take longer to move past.

Scheffler has the record for consecutive top-tens in a row with 18, six more than Vijay Singh’s previous record of 12. At one point on Sunday, it looked like the streak would run to 19, as he shot a 31 on the back nine to poke into the top ten. But a birdie from Cameron Young on the 18th hole officially ended the streak. The streak began at last year’s Texas Children’s Houston Open in March.
Scheffler has not played poorly on three consecutive Thursdays, costing him potential wins at the Phoenix Open and at Pebble Beach. With 20 PGA Tour wins and four majors, Scheffler’s career will only be judged by wins moving forward. He is hurdling toward major season with just one win on the year and a few sluggish performances he’d like to flush.
Jacob Bridgeman took home the win at the Genesis Invitational on Sunday. He shot one over par on Sunday to win the tournament by one over Kurt Kitayama and Rory McIlroy. Scheffler finished seven shots behind the first-time winner. That 74 he shot on Thursday weighed him down throughout the week.
Scheffler will now take a week off before the PGA Tour Signature Events series kicks up again. So he won’t go to the Cognizant Classic in West Palm Beach, but will look to win his second Arnold Palmer Invitational and third Players Championship later in the Florida swing.
Can Scheffler overcome the Thursday woes to put together another historic season? Or will poor starts continue weighing him down.