A Star Is Born

Harrison Ford worked as a carpenter before landing his first notable acting gig at 31. Liam Neeson was in his 40s when he booked his first big role, having supported himself as a forklift driver and a teacher. It’s an old Hollywood saw that it takes 20 years to become an overnight success.

The sports world, with its boom/bust duality, is less patient. Jacob Bridgeman had been considered a star-in-waiting since 2022 when, as a Clemson Tiger, he won the ACC Championship and finished second in the PGA TOUR University rankings. Bridgeman apprenticed for a year on the Korn Ferry Tour and then reached the bright lights of the PGA TOUR. He should have won last year at Tampa but, when he didn’t, the golf world quickly moved on to the next shiny object. For Bridgeman, 26, that tie for second changed something within him. “I think once that first [near-miss] happened I realized, Oh, it's not as hard as I thought it was going to be,” he says. “I kind of started running with it and started piecing some good rounds together. I realized it doesn't take four perfect rounds and 18 perfect holes to do that. I think that has kind of trended into maybe my goal [back then] was top-10, now my goal’s to win.”

He had another star turn last week in his 66th TOUR start, at the glamorous tournament formerly known as the Los Angeles Open. Through 54 holes the kid had built a tournament record tying six-stroke advantage, leading the field in strokes gained putting and tee-to-green, a deadly combination. (Only two players in the strokes gained era have ever finished a tournament atop both categories, Jordan Spieth and Brian Gay, and they won those tournaments by a combined 18 strokes.) Bridgeman has always been an ace putter but he remade his swing over the last two seasons, adding versatility to his iron game. “ I was not that good at approach [play] in the past, especially when I was in college,” he says. “I kind of just putted my way around and won some tournaments that way. We've done a lot to kind of increase the height of my iron shots and give me a little bit more spin. This week I think the soft greens are allowing me to just hit cruisy shots, little chip shots especially in the wind and it gives me a lot of control.”

When Bridgeman birdied two of the first three holes on Sunday, the rout was on, or so it seemed. But he started playing prevent defense while Kurt Kitayama, Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy began to surge. Bridgeman didn’t make a birdie over the final 15 holes but he showed heavy mettle with a couple of bloodless putts: a 7-footer to save par on 13 and a bogey save on 15. (He has gone 178 holes and counting without a 3-putt.) “I didn’t really feel really crazy nervous until I had a five-footer for bogey on 16; that one was sketchy,” Bridgeman said. “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 [of] greens.”

I couldn’t even feel my hands on the last couple.

It showed on the 72nd hole, amid golf’s most glorious amphitheater. Bridgeman had to two-putt from 20 feet for a life-changing victory. His first try barely made it 17 feet up the hill. With god and Tiger Woods waiting to pass judgement, he confidently stroked in the winning knee-knocker. “The hole's really white and it looked pretty big for whatever reason on 18,” Bridgeman said. “I was just hoping that the ball would roll where it was supposed to roll. Yeah, everyone always says the hole looks small when you've got pressure, I thought it looked pretty big. I felt good in that moment.”

His playing partner McIlroy, who birdied four of the final holes to finish one stroke back, was duly impressed: “I was surprised he was even par [for the final round] because I felt he was very much in control of his golf ball. He drove it great, he hit his irons well. But 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. That putt on the last isn't easy. Leaves it a little bit short and the crowd reacts and you've got to take your time a little bit. I give him all the props, he did what he needed to do and I'm happy for him.”

Bridgeman’s gutsy play offers the chance to invoke a favorite Hollywood expression: A star is born.