Late birdie lifts Homa to second straight PGA title at Silverado
SAN FRANCISCO: Max Homa chipped in for birdie at the 72nd hole on Sunday to win the PGA Tour Fortinet Championship for a second straight year as Danny Willet crumbled at the last hole.
Homa fired a four-under par 68 at Silverado Resort in Napa, California, his 16-under total of 272 giving him a one-shot win over England’s Willet, who missed a three and a half-foot birdie put at 18 that would have given him the win.
“It was kind of a wild finish,” Homa said. Willet remains in search of his first US PGA Tour title since his 2016 Masters triumph, although he’s won twice since then on the DP World Tour.
He took a one-shot lead with a birdie at the 14th, where he drained a 15-foot put from the fringe ater an impressive approach shot from behind a tree. He appeared to be in command at the par-five 18th, where he landed his 66-yard third shot less than four feet from the pin while Homa was in a bunker short and let of the green.
Homa’s bunker shot failed to reach the green, setling in a mown swale below the puting surface, but his chip took a couple of small hops and rolled in the cup. American Taylor Montgomery, making his fith tour start, defied the rainy, chilly conditions with eight birdies in an eight-under 64 to finish third on 275. Overnight leader Justin Lower carded a one-over 73 to share fourth on 276 with South Korean An Byeong-hun, who signed for a 71.
Homa’s victory at Silverado was one of his two last season, and his defense is a warm-up for next week’s Presidents Cup match play showdown in North Carolina.
LEE WINS LPGA PORTLAND CLASSIC: Former world amateur number one Andrea Lee reeled off eight birdies in a 12-hole stretch on Sunday to win the Portland Classic and capture her first career LPGA title.
The 24-year-old American fired a six-under par 66 to finish 72 holes on 19-under 269 at Columbia Edgewater in Portland, Oregon.
Her charge was good enough for a one-stroke victory over Ecuador’s Daniela Darquea, who closed with three consecutive birdies to shoot 66 and finish on 270.
A third-place pack on 271 included South Korea’s An Na-rin, Australia’s Hannah Green, Japan’s Ayaka Furue, Germany’s Esther Henseleit and American Lilia Vu. Lee had lost her LPGA playing rights last year but batled back with top play, sponsor exemptions and a developmental tour victory in April to reclaim her spot.