HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – As Jacob Bridgeman trudged up the 52 steps to the clubhouse at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, it had slipped his mind that Tiger Woods, the tournament host, would be waiting to congratulate him after winning the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational in February.
Bridgeman, 26, had been in the presence of the 15-time major winner before, including at the Sage Valley Invitational, a prominent junior golf tournament in his native South Carolina, but this time Woods offered a handshake and piece of advice that comes from winning a Tour-record 82 times.
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“It was special,” Bridgeman recalled on Wednesday ahead of the RBC Heritage. “I was in shock and after we talked for a second or two I think he realized that I didn’t know what I was supposed to do and he said, ‘Go sign your scorecard.’ ”
Jacob Bridgeman of the United States and Tiger Woods walk to the trophy ceremony on the 18th green during the final round of The Genesis Invitational 2026 at Riviera Country Club on February 22, 2026 in Pacific Palisades, California.
Bridgeman has been one of the breakout stars on Tour this season, making the cut in all nine starts and recording three additional top 5s, tied for the second most on Tour and just one behind world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. His T-41 in his Masters debut last week was Bridgeman’s first result outside the top 18. Add it all up and it’s no surprise that Bridgeman ranks third in the season-long FedEx Cup standings.
“It’s been even better than I would have dreamed it to be,” he said.
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Bridgeman grew up in the Palmetto State – Upstate as he put it – and learned the game at Woodfin Ridge Golf Course in Inman, just north of Spartanburg, where he idolized pro golfer Tommy Biershenk, who had a cup of coffee on the PGA Tour, playing one full season in the big leagues in 2012 and making 152 career starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, the Tour’s top developmental circuit.
When Biershenk would come home from a tournament, Bridgeman and Korn Ferry Tour pro Trent Phillips would call him up and ask if he would play with them. Biershenk recognized raw talent when he saw it and says of Bridgeman, “I knew that as long as he kept working on it that he was going to make it.”
To Bridgeman, Biershenk is still one of the best golfers he’s ever seen and he instilled the confidence that he could do great things in the game. Bridgeman’s putting always has been his super power but Biershenk emphasized the importance of the mental game.
“He always said there are a lot more losses than wins and he said he saw in me that I had the mental game to get there,” Bridgeman recalled.
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During that one season on Tour, Biershenk tried to play what he termed “perfect golf” and was scared to make mistakes. He played to make the cut and was too concerned with keeping his card rather than winning. “I told him don’t do what I did,” Biershenk said.
After he lost his Tour status and returned home to teach, Biershenk coached Bridgeman, flattening his backswing because he was too steep and tightening his shot dispersion. Bridgeman became an All-American at Clemson University, where Biershenk played before him, and won the 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference title and Player of the Year honors.
Two years ago, Bridgeman switched to working with instructor Scott Hamilton, who travels the Tour and has a large stable of pros, but to this day, Bridgeman still does the same drill before he plays, that Biershenk taught him — sticking a head cover in his armpit to prevent him from getting steep.
Jacob Bridgeman of the United States reacts to his winning putt on the 18th green with his caddie G.W. Cable during the final round of The Genesis Invitational 2026 at Riviera Country Club on February 22, 2026 in Pacific Palisades, California.
It hasn’t hurt that Bridgeman’s putting has reached new heights this season as he’s climbed to first on Tour in Strokes Gained: Putting. Two years ago, he switched from a traditional blade putter he’d used since his youth to a TaylorMade Spider. While his caddie made a 28-hour drive from California to Minnesota for the 2024 3M Open due to the internet blackout that disrupted travel via airlines, Bridgeman grew bored waiting for him and decided to take the mallet-head putter for a test drive.
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“Started making everything and decided I’m going to switch to this,” recalled Bridgeman, who shot 63 in his first competitive round with the new short stick. “Putted with it the first few days, decided I wanted some sort of alignment aid, took a Sharpie out, drew a dot on the top, and that’s kind of been the putter I’ve been rolling with since.”
Playing this week at the RBC Heritage feels like a home game, even though it’s about four hours from his stomping grounds. Bridgeman remembers competing in the Junior Heritage here and visits with his grandmother, who had a timeshare nearby that the family would enjoy once a year. He developed a fondness for Harbour Town, where the average green size at the Pete Dye design is just 4,500 square feet, making them some of the smallest on the Tour.
“It’s a place where you have to plot your way around, be strategic off the tee, can’t really overpower it with length,” he said. “That’s the courses that I prefer.”
Bridgeman also is back on the Bermuda-grass greens that he grew up on, but he seemed to figure out the Poa annua greens at Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles, building a six-stroke lead entering the final round. Biershenk watched from his home while chatting with Bridgeman’s father as Bridgeman’s lead was trimmed to two strokes by the time he reached the last hole.
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“As soon as he hit the green at 18, I told his dad now we can breathe,” Biershenk recalled. McIlroy proceeded to can a 30-foot bomb for birdie and when Bridgeman left his birdie putt 4 feet short the possibility of a playoff loomed should Bridgeman miss. Biershenk worried that he may have applied the jinx on his protégé but Bridgeman shook it in for his maiden Tour title.
“First of many, I told him,” said Biershenk, who was Bridgeman’s guest to watch him in the opening round of the Masters last week. “The first win is always the hardest but once you get that one under the belt you realize it’s not as hard as you thought.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Jacob Bridgeman reflects on PGA Tour breakout, advice from Tiger Woods
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