Homa wins at Riviera
LOS ANGELES — Winning at Riviera had been a dream for Cal alum Max Homa for years. Sunday, at the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational, he made it a reality.
But it wasn’t easy.
First, Homa missed a 3foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for the win. Then, on the first playoff hole, he appeared to have no chance when his tee shot settled inches from a tree. Yet, somehow, he escaped to extend the playoff, and won it on the next hole when Tony Finau failed to save par from a bunker on the par3 14th.
Heartbreak for Finau — his 10th runnerup finish worldwide since his lone victory five years ago — meant joy for Homa, who grew up in Southern California.
“I’ve been watching this tournament my whole life,” Homa said after his second career PGA Tour win. “Wow. I didn’t think it would be like this. … The city of champions — Dodgers, Lakers and Max Homa. It’s a weird feeling.”
Homa not only closed with a 5underpar 66, he played the final 26 holes without a bogey.
Still, Homa had to contend with Finau, who saved par on the 18th for a 64, the low round of the weekend. Homa made a 6foot birdie putt on the par5 17th to tie for the lead, and he stuffed his approach on the 18th for what looked to be a sure birdie.
And then he missed. “You’re not supposed to miss a 3footer in front of Tiger Woods,” Homa said. “I saw him yesterday and was too scared to talk to him. But he’s forced to talk to me now.”
The victory allowed Homa to crack the top 50 in the world for the first time, making him eligible for the World Golf Championship this week as well as the Masters in April. Homa also earned $1.674 million for winning.
Homa and Finau finished at 12under 272.
⏩ Woods says he’s doesn’t know when he will return from a fifth back surgery, and he could not give a definitive answer when asked if he would be at the Masters.
“God, I hope so,” Woods said on the CBS broadcast of the Genesis Invitational.
Woods had a microdiscectomy Dec. 23. It was the fifth surgery on his back, and the first since a procedure to fuse his lower spine in April 2017.
⏩ In Lakewood Ranch, Fla., Hayden Buckley won the Suncoast Classic for his first Korn Ferry Tour title, beating Dawson Armstrong and Taylor Montgomery with a 10foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff.
The last alternate to get in the field Thursday, Buckley closed with a 1under 70 to match Armstrong and Montgomery at 13under 271 in the tour’s first event since early October.