How SC’s Jacob Bridgeman, Dustin Johnson finished in 2026 Masters

Jacob Bridgeman’s second shot into the 18th green landed perhaps 10 to 12 feet from the pin and teetered on the false-front slope before the gravity took over. Rather than a decent chance at birdie, he chipped from the fairway.

That scenario pretty much summed up his final round Sunday at the 90th Masters.

Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson, the 2020 Masters champion and the other South Carolinian to make the cut, put together his best round of the tourney, firing a 3-under-par 69 Sunday. Johnson recorded three birdies and 15 pars Sunday and tied for 33rd at even-par 288.

“I played a lot better than I scored,” said Bridgeman, the former Clemson All-American who grew up in Inman. “There were certain areas of the course that I didn’t really expect to play the way they did, I guess, is the easiest way to put it.”

He posted a 4-over-par 76 Sunday and finished the tournament tied for 41st at 2-over-par 290 in his first Masters.

His frustrations are a reason that the Augusta National Golf Club course requires years of experience to solve. There’s a reason no first-time Masters player has won since 1979.

“I’ve got one year under my belt and I’ll see if I can learn anything from it,” he said.

Among the positives: “I had always thought the tee shots were a little bit more intimidating than I guess they were this week,” he said. “When I got in competition, I think my focus kind of heightened a little bit and was able to hit the tight tee shots pretty consistently good. I was proud of myself for that.”

On the downside: “I really struggled on the greens with speeds and kind of noticing how putts break when there’s not much grass where they’ve baked it out and then how putts break a lot where there is grass where they’ve watered it,” he said. “I saw the way it plays sticky versus fast, and I didn’t quite figure that out today specifically.”