Danny Willett collapses on final hole to gift Max Homa victory in the Fortinet Championship
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Updated 19/09/2022 at 09:16 GMT
The opening event of the PGA Tour season, the Fortinet Championship, took place at Silverado Country Club in Napa. Danny Willett looked set to secure his first win on the PGA Tour, but he passed up the chance on the final green at Silverado Country Club in Napa to hand Max Homa the defence of a title he won 12 months ago and sets him up for the Presidents Cup.
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Danny Willett three-putted from inside four feet on the final hole to hand victory to Max Homa in the Fortinet Championship.
Willett only secured his PGA Tour card after defections to LIV Golf got him back above the cut mark.
He looked set to take full advantage of his opportunity as he played superbly for most of the final round and had victory in his grasp, but bungled on the final hole to hand the title to defending champion Homa.
It was a five-minute spell that was barely believable, as Willett grasped defeat from the jaws of victory.
Willett began the day one shot adrift of overnight leader Justin Lower, but quickly eroded the deficit and soon found himself in front after birdies on one and four.
In wet conditions, it was never likely to be easy to close things out at Silverado Country Club.
Final Leaderboard
- 1. Max Homa, 16-under
- 2. Danny Willett, 15-under
- 3. Taylor Montgomery, 13-under
- T4. Justin Lower, 12-under
- T4. Byeong Hun An, 12-under
- T6. Nick Taylor, 11-under
- T6. Rickie Fowler, 11-under
- T6. Sahith Theegala, 11-under
Willett found himself hauled in by defending champion Homa after a bogey on the ninth, and the pair slugged it out on the run for home.
In what is the first event of the PGA Tour season, Willett produced what could be shot of the season on the 14th.
Willett found himself hard against a tree. The sensible shot would have been to pitch out and take his medicine of a bogey.
Instead, he went for the highest-tariff imaginable, a huge swinging hook, with all the potential pitfalls of catching it wrong and sending it out of bounds.
The connection was perfect, the ball hooked in the region of 40 yards and came to rest in the fringe at the back of the green.
After the miracle shot, he followed it up for good measure with a birdie to take the lead.
Willett made a clutch par putt on 17 to take a one-stroke lead up the final hole, and he stuffed his approach inside four feet to seemingly secure the win.
Homa’s race looked run when he caught his bunker shot fat, but he chipped in from the rough for a birdie.
The look on Willett’s face was a picture, knowing he had to focus on a four-foot putt for the win.
He took his time, stood over the putt and pulled it left off the face.
The return putt was longer than the first, and it caught the lip on the left and stayed out.
After putting brilliantly all week, it was agonising to see the 2016 Masters champion pass up the shot at a first PGA Tour win and the three-year exemption that would have come with it.
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