NAPA, Calif.—Max Homa knew he had no choice but to go for it on the par-5 18th hole if he wanted to defend his title at the Fortinet Championship.
Trailing Danny Willett by a shot, he went for the green in two but ended up in a tough spot in a bunker short of the green. He blasted out but still wasn’t on the putting surface.
Homa stayed aggressive, and this time it paid off, ramming his chip from 33 feet into the hole for a closing birdie.
Still, all Willett needed to do was convert his own birdie from short range—and he didn’t deliver. Willett hit his 3-foot, 7-inch putt too hard. It grazed the lip and ran 4 feet, 8 inches by….