It wasn’t that long ago that the prospect of taking two weeks off during the meat of the PGA Tour season wouldn’t sit well with Jacob Bridgeman.
Off weeks were opportunities lost and in the nascent stages of a career, Bridgeman was chasing the job security that came with bigger paychecks and those couldn’t be earned sitting home in Greenville, South Carolina.
But things look different for Bridgeman, sitting these days atop the FedEx Cup points standings, allowing him to enjoy some down time while the tour schedule does a two-step through Texas before the Masters.
While he is still on his way to becoming a household name in the golf universe, Bridgeman has affixed his name on leaderboards and emerged as arguably the most consistently good player this season. In eight starts, Bridgeman has one victory – holding off Rory McIlroy among others to win the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February – and he has not finished outside the top 18.
Having played eight of 10 weeks, Bridgeman has allowed himself the luxury to kick back for a stretch before teeing it up in the Masters for the first time next month.
It already has been a memorable year for Bridgeman, a 26-year-old former Clemson star who owns an impressive collection of records in a college program that has sent a steady stream of players to the PGA Tour. If it seems as if Bridgeman has made an abrupt arrival in featured groupings on tour, that’s not entirely accurate.
Like so many others, Bridgeman’s journey has been steady, building over seasons until there he was at rain-soaked Riviera, climbing the stairs behind the 18th green on Sunday afternoon to shake hands with tournament host Tiger Woods, having just won his first tour event.
“Walking up those stairs to shake Tiger’s hand was pretty special and then being in the [18th green] amphitheater with him was really special,” Bridgeman said.
Bridgeman, like his travel buddy Chris Gotterup, played well enough on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour to earn his PGA Tour card. He played well enough in his rookie season on the big tour to retain his card and last year, Bridgeman began to find his place.
Those weren’t the only stairs Bridgeman had to climb. After finishing at Clemson, where he won five individual tournament titles and earned 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference player-of-the-year honors, Bridgeman went to work with swing coach Scott Hamilton on building a better, more reliable swing.
Bridgeman has always been able to putt, a rare gift, and the challenge has been bringing his overall game to that level.
“When I got out of school, he had a vision for me in his mind but he didn’t want to show me all of it because it could be overwhelming,” Bridgeman said.
“He said we’re going to change some things over time and you will still play well while we do. In a year, it will look different and in another year it will look very different.”
Bridgeman, like his travel buddy Chris Gotterup, played well enough on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour to earn his PGA Tour card. He played well enough in his rookie season on the big tour to retain his card and last year, Bridgeman began to find his place.
With a T2 finish at the Cognizant Classic, a solo third at the Valspar Championship and a T4 at the Truist Championship, he was on his way. Bridgeman’s goal of reaching the Tour Championship, which comes with multiple perks, was suddenly attainable.
At the BMW Championship, chasing one of the 30 precious spots at East Lake, one thought kept creeping into Bridgeman’s mind.
“If I make the top 30, I get to play the Masters,” recalled Bridgeman, who attained his goal with a top-20 BMW Championship finish.
Now, the Masters is front and center and he will be there with Gotterup, whom he befriended during their college years. They began renting houses together while on the Korn Ferry Tour and it continues now.
Bridgeman has been on site for three of Gotterup’s four tour victories and their paths have paralleled to a degree.
“We both had some frustrations. We both expected to have immediate success but it’s hard. We were good in college and good on the Korn Ferry Tour but it’s hard,” Bridgeman said.
“I played well in the middle of last year and it got me into some signature events and [Gotterup] wanted to do that. He was playing OK but he was looking for a push to make the playoffs. He said he needed to do something big then he won the Scottish Open and finished third in the Open Championship. He went from outside to passing me.
“We both expected to have success faster than we did but it’s been nice, by other people’s standards, to have some pretty quick success.”
In the meantime, Bridgeman is planning a pre-Masters visit to Augusta National in the coming days – he played it twice while at Clemson – then he will return with his wife and friends on the Sunday before tournament week to settle in and soak it all in.
While others have opted to anchor in Florida or Arizona, Bridgeman lives in Greenville, about 30 miles from Clemson and a little more than two hours from Augusta.
He is involved in a new private club – the Kawonu Golf Club designed by Andrew Green in nearby Simpsonville, South Carolina – that will likely open for play later this year. It will be the first new private club to open in the thriving Greenville market in more than 30 years.
Jay and Bill Haas are involved in the project as are others with PGA Tour pedigree, including Carson Young, Mark Wilson and Ben Martin.
“Every guy in town jumped on. I loved the concept. It’s been amazing to see what it is so far,” Bridgeman said.
“I met with Andrew Green and we talked about the design plan. It’s cool to see the renderings.”
In the meantime, Bridgeman is planning a pre-Masters visit to Augusta National in the coming days – he played it twice while at Clemson – then he will return with his wife and friends on the Sunday before tournament week to settle in and soak it all in.
“It’s going to be a special year,” Bridgeman said.
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