Jacob Bridgeman has five-shot lead at Genesis

At the end of shifting day at the Genesis Invitational, Jacob Bridgeman discovered himself proper where he was when he began 4 hours earlier — at the top of the leaderboard. Only this time, he was all by his lonesome.

Experiencing the ambiance and custom of Riviera Country Club for the first time this event, Bridgeman recorded a second consecutive spherical of 64 with surgical precision Saturday, leaving patrons in awe after capturing the bottom rating of the day and shifting to 19 under par, six pictures clear of second-place Rory McIlroy, who shot a 69.

“I felt great all day,” Bridgeman said. “I had a nice start and that got me a little bit of a gap.”

Playing his third official spherical at Riviera Country Club, the 26-year-old from South Carolina navigated the famend course like a grizzled veteran. He is eighteen holes away from not only his first PGA Tour victory and the $4-million winner’s verify, but he also has an alternative to break the event scoring report in the method.

Lanny Wadkins set the 72-hole report at Riviera, capturing 20-under 264 to win the Los Angeles Open in 1985.

Bridgeman equaled the event’s 54-hole report of 194 held by Joaquin Niemann, who was also 19 under through three rounds in 2022.

“To be doing this on this stage is a dream for me,” Bridgeman said.

Englishman Marco Penge started the spherical tied with Bridgeman for first at 12 under, one shot in entrance of McIlroy, but struggled all day and wound up tied with Max Greyserman for seventh at 9 under.

McIlroy bought a 4 at the par-five first to pull even with the leaders, who both birdied it themselves 10 minutes later to transfer to 13 under. Penge missed the golf green at No. 2, took a one-stroke penalty and bogeyed, while Bridgeman parred to take sole possession of the lead. He adopted with back-to-back birdies to attain 15 under.

A birdie at No. 6 put McIlroy alone in second at 13 under, then Penge dropped another shot off the tempo with a bogey at No. 7.

South African Aldrich Potgieter, who began the day in a four-way tie for twelfth and 5 pairings forward of the leaders, eagled the first gap and moved into third place alone after birdies at the tenth and twelfth. Joining him at 12 under minutes later had been Xander Schauffele, who birdied No. 10, and enjoying accomplice McIlroy, who three-putted for bogey.

“It’s awesome,” Potgieter said upon studying his swing and strategy had been analyzed on live tv by event host Tiger Woods. “I almost walked into him a few times in the clubhouse. This is a special place.”

Potgieter shot a 65 and sits alone in third at 12 under. Aaron Rai is fourth at 11 under, and Schauffele is tied with Kurt Kitayama for fifth at 10 under.

McIlory remained regular, parring the ultimate seven holes, but failed to gain ground. The five-time major champion from Northern Ireland bounced proper back from his bogey with a birdie at the eleventh to attain 13 under just before Penge birdied the eleventh to get back to even par and be part of Potgieter and Schauffele at 12 under.

“The greens got so fast, so soft and they got bumpy later in the day,” said McIlroy, who could be thrilled to get his thirtieth PGA Tour win at Riviera, where he might be paired with Bridgeman in the ultimate spherical Sunday. “It was hard for me to trust my reads but I’m proud of myself. I stayed patient.”

Bridgeman bought in hassle at the eighth when his bunker blast landed short of the opening and rolled off the inexperienced, main to his first bogey, but he parred No. 9 and made the flip with a two-stroke margin over McIlroy, Potgieter and Schauffele. Undeterred by his misfortune two holes earlier, Bridgeman started the back 9 with a birdie at No. 10 and an eagle at No. 11 to give himself a four-shot cushion.

Inscribed in a brass plaque behind the tee box at No. 4 are the immortal phrases of the legendary Ben Hogan, a three-time winner at Riviera in the late Forties, who deemed it: “The greatest par 3 hole in America.“ The hole had been a source of controversy all week following the decision to lengthen it from 236 to 273 yards. Only five of 51 players birdied it while 11 bogeyed it Saturday.

Starting the day 12 shots back after barely making the cut, No. 1-ranked Scottie Scheffler carded six birdies — one less than he had in the first two rounds combined — to shoot a 66 and get to five under.

“I played solid today,” said Scheffler, who’s driving a streak of 9 straight top-four finishes on tour. “The course is gettable in the morning as the greens are fresher. So I was able to hole a few putts, which is key. I was glad to get an early tee time and see what I can do. I wanted to shoot a little bit lower, but overall five under is pretty solid.”