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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”