Jacob Bridgeman was thrust into the limelight last week at Pebble Beach, but not in a way that he’d have hoped prior to his round on Sunday.
The 24-year-old was in contention for the win all day, but on the 18th hole his approach shot missed left and landed on the beach. His attempt to land the green from there hit the rocks and went into the water, meaning he was forced to go back to the fairway and play his approach again.
Eventually, he got up and down for one of the most impressive bogeys you’ll ever see, but the whole ordeal took around 20 minutes. That means the eventual winner, Collin Morikawa, was standing waiting to take his own approach to the green for ages.
Luckily for Bridgeman, Morikawa showed nerves of steel and birdied the hole to win. It was his first victory on the PGA Tour since 2023, and an emotional moment for the two-time major winner.
Bridgeman could take a sigh of relief knowing he didn’t inadvertently decide the result, and he admitted that Morikawa was on his mind during his struggles on the beach.
Jacob Bridgeman said he was concerned about holding Collin Morikawa up on the 18th at Pebble Beach
As Morikawa watched on, waiting for his competitor to eventually find the green, Bridgeman admitted he was concerned for the tournament leader.
He talked through the ordeal at the Genesis Invitational, “Yeah, that was an adventure. I took a risk off the tee because I wanted to make an eagle. Hit an awesome shot and then same kind of thing, I was like I got to start this over the water if I want to make an eagle to tie this golf tournament.
“And I hit almost a too good shot that went too low and went right through the wind. Hit the rock and was miles from anywhere you would think to play a golf shot. Same kind of thing, I was going to try it even if the lie was bad, I wanted to give myself a chance.
“So didn’t work out and then it was like, man, this sucks, I’ve got to start over, go back to the fairway. I’m looking back there looking at him pacing around knowing that they’re just frustrated.
“Last thing I want to do is ice Collin and get him to mess up. So I’m kind, I’m glad it ended the way it did. He hit an awesome shot in there and two-putted for the win so it kind of worked out perfectly.”
You can only imagine the weight that was lifted from Bridgeman’s shoulders when the winning putt went down.
What Collin Morikawa did while waiting for Jacob Bridgeman
Morikawa’s mental strength was tested to the max while waiting for Bridgeman to clear the green, and he deployed some meditation tactics to steady his nerves.
Speaking to Dan Rapaport afterwards, he explained how he was able to keep his composure during the wait: “Honestly, I just stared at the ocean. Like that’s why I kept pacing back and forth. Like, I don’t know how many times they showed me pacing back and forth. But that’s all I did.
“The last thing I wanted to do was think about how I was going to hit that shot, because if I started thinking about it, you know, ‘Okay man, I have 220 to the front, 236 to the hole. Oh I got to start it this far in here. Oh I saw Jacob hit his shot left. Do I need to start it more left or more right?’
“It was the last thing, for me, being an LA guy, being a West Coast guy like you, you look at the ocean, and I think you forget about everything else in life. That helped so much. I was very, very lucky to have that backdrop, and just stared at some rocks.
“Stared at some water, stared at some birds. Just anything aside from hitting that shot.”
Credit to Morikawa, because his resilience was put to the test and he passed with flying colours.
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