Bhatia finishes 16tth as Theegala is 28th at Genesis

Los Angeles, Feb 23 (PTI) Akshay Bhatia and Sahith Theegala rounded off the week with solid final rounds that saw them finish tied 16th and tied 22nd in the The Genesis Invitational.

Meanwhile Jacob Bridgeman (72) overcame strong challenges from Kurt Kitayama (64) and Rory McIlroy (67) to win the tournament as the massive crowd filling the amphitheater roared for him around the 18th green at The Riviera Country Club.

The trophy was presented by Tiger Woods.

As Bhatia shot a 68 with an eagle and three birdies against three bogeys, Theegala also had an eagle on the first and three birdies against one bogey for his 67.

Indo-British Aaron Rai, who had a great start with 66, finished with 76 and was T-28th.

Bridgeman started with a six-shot lead. He stretched it to seven with 12 holes to play. And as the lead began to shrink with superb finishes by Adam Scott (63), Kurt Kitayama (64) and finally Rory McIlroy (67), he lost feeling in his hands on the putter.

Bridgeman pulled it together with one last par, making a nervy 3-footer on the 18th for a 1-over 72 and a one-shot victory over McIlroy and Kitayama for his first PGA TOUR title.

Bridgeman is the first player since Scott in 2005 to play Riviera for the first time and leave with the trophy.

Woods met him atop the steps overlooking the 18th green, and as they walked toward the trophy presentation, Bridgeman said the tournament host told him how cool it was to win at Riviera, the one place Woods could never master.

Bridgeman finished at 18-under 266 and didn't make a birdie over the final 15 holes. He heard constant cheers for McIlroy, one of golf's most popular figures who was never a threat until he holed a bunker shot for birdie on the 12th and finished birdie-birdie for a 67.

Scottie Scheffler, who had to make a 7-foot par putt on Friday to make the cut, had a 66-65 weekend and wound up tied for 12th, his worst finish since he tied for 20th at THE PLAYERS Championship nearly a year ago. He ended his streak of 18 consecutive top 10s. PTI Cor AH AH