Rory McIlroy didn’t win the 2026 Genesis Invitational on Sunday. But he blitzed Riviera’s back nine late in the final round, nearly overcoming winner Jacob Bridgeman’s big 54-hole lead.
The five-time major winner, who finished T2, sounded pleased with his performance Sunday evening, calling it, “overall a really positive week.”
At least in terms of his bank account, he wasn’t kidding. McIlroy earned a huge payday for his runner-up at Riviera, thanks to the Genesis’ status as a PGA Tour Signature Event.
However, his payout would have been far smaller had he not dropped a lengthy putt for birdie on his final hole of the tournament. That fact was not lost on McIlroy after his round, and he used it to hilarious effect in a response to a reporter’s question about his “cruel” near-miss at the Genesis.
Rory McIlroy’s birdie bomb on 18 earns him massive payday at Genesis
McIlroy’s final round started off slow. Trailing Bridgeman by six shots to start the day, he traded a birdie at the first with a bogey at 6 to finish the front nine at even par.
Once he made the turn, though, McIlroy kicked it into a different gear. He reeled off a birdie at 11, then holed-out an incredible bunker shot for another birdie at 12.
When Bridgeman later made bogey at 16, only three shots separated he and McIlroy on the leaderboard.
Rory birdied 17 to shave off another stroke. At 18, he stared down a 30-footer and, unlike with many of his other chances on Sunday, drained it for an unlikely birdie at the last.
It wasn’t enough to stop Bridgeman, who parred out to win by one, but it was enough to move McIlroy up one position on the leaderboard. And there were major financial repercussions as a result.
During his post-round interview, a reporter asked McIlroy if it was “cruel” watching his long birdie putt drop on 18 considering that so many earlier putts had missed.
That’s when McIlroy offered his witty response, using his increased winnings as the punchline.
“No, not really,” McIlroy began. “It probably earned me an extra 400, 500 grand so it’s fine.”
However, McIlroy’s quick math resulted in a major underestimate. In reality, his long birdie at 18 increased his paycheck by far more than he thought.
Had Rory two-putted for par at 18, he would have finished T3 with Adam Scott. That two-way tie for third would have earned McIlroy $1.2 million. It’s a startling figure, no doubt. For reference, it’s a bigger payday than Rory earned for winning the 2025 Irish Open in September ($1.02 million), his most recent victory.
But McIlroy did sink his birdie putt on Riviera’s 18th hole. And as a result, he improved from a T3- to a T2-finish with Kurt Kitayama. That massively improved his payout from $1.2 to $1.8 million.
In short, McIlroy’s 30-foot make on 18 earned him $600,000 more, increasing his earnings by 50 percent.
And based on his comments to close his presser, McIlroy is going to keep focusing on the positives as the biggest tournaments of the year approach.
“I feel like my game’s in really good shape. I’m looking forward to getting on some Bermuda greens over the next couple weeks,” McIlroy said in closing on Sunday. “But it’s feeling good, it’s feeling much better than it did in Dubai, which is a big step in the right direction. Just have to keep working.”
