Max Homa repeats as PGA Tour's Fortinet Championship Champ in Napa
Homa ties Collin Morikawa atop the Cal alumni leaderboard with a 5th PGA Tour victories; both Cal Bears will represent Team USA in Presidents Cup next weekend
We are currently in the Golden Age of California Golden Bears on the PGA Tour. Ignore all that noise about the LIV Tour and its questionable Saudi backing with zero Cal Bear, the good old PGA Tour is the Pro Golf Bear Territory!
In the recently concluded 2021-22 PGA season, the FedEx Cup Playoffs saw two Golden Bears in contention. Max Homa ended up T5 while two-time Majors champion Collin Morikawa placed T21 in the conclusion of the three tournament playoffs for the top-125 players on the PGA Tour.
With momentum from that great finish as well as the high of being named to the Presidents Cup (more on this at the bottom), Homa was the betting favorite at the season opening Fortinet Championship even from the Silverado Country Club in Napa, CA. Homa was also the defending champion of this event from 2021.
If you watch only one highlight in this post, it should be this incredible chip shot by Max Homa on the 18th hole of the final round.
Max Homa battled Danny Willett (2016 Masters champ) all day in the final round. Trailing by a shot going to the final hole, Homa needed to make that chip shot to apply some pressure on Willett, who only needed to sink a 3+ feet putt for the victory.
You can watch how the entire 18th hole played out in the video below.
Incredibly, Homa was handed the championship after Willett missed on not one but two short putts (the latter would have forced a playoff). The Cal alumnus and 2013 NCAA individual champion won his 5th PGA Tour event. Homa now tied fellow Golden Bear Collin Morikawa atop the all-time leaderboard of Cal Bears on the PGA Tour with 5 PGA Tour wins. Of course, Morikawa got the more impressive resume still with two Majors amongst his victories, but this tie appeared unlikely just over an year ago when Homa had three fewer PGA titles.
Check out the final round highlights of Max Homa below.
Here is a more comprehensive highlights of the entire Round 4 from all the golfers in contention.
Max Homa won two event during the 2021-22 PGA season for his best season on the PGA Tour. He has credited a change in mentality to his success. In the post-tournament press conference, Homa talked about how he now has a better handle on the pressure of expectation.
It was a strong showing by Cal Golden Bears in Napa. Even with Collin Morikawa not playing this tournament, five Cal Men’s Golf alumni were in the field, with four making the cut.
South Korean “Calympian” Byeong Hun (AKA Ben) An and one-time PGA tournament winner Michael Kim just won their spots back on the PGA Tour after both finished in the top 25 of the Korn Ferry Tour this past season. They were joined in the field by Brandon Hagy (who once formed a very formidable Cal team with Max Homa and Michal Kim that completely dominated the 2013 season by winning 12 of 14 events) and James Hahn, the groundbreaker who became the first Golden Bear to win a PGA tournament back in 2015.
An had a very strong tournament and was in contention all weekend to finish T4 at -12, four shots behind Max Homa.
Also making the cut were Brandon Hagy, who finished at -6 for T36 ($36,457), and James Hahn, who shot -4 for T51 ($19,480).
Michael Kim, who got to play with Max Homa in the same group, was five strokes away from the cut. PGA Tour had a nice article (link in the Tweet below) on how the two Cal Bears shared similar up-and-down journeys on the PGA Tour. Kim, who has really struggled on the PGA Tour after winning a tournament and exemptions early on in his pro career, might have finally figured things out on the development tour (Korn Ferry) last season.
By the way, both Homa and An have babies (future Cal Bears?) on the way. With his win, Max Homa will take home $1,440,000. Byeong-Hun An earns $360,000 in prize money for the T4 finish.
The Golf World will next turn its attention to Charlotte, NC next week for the Presidents Cup that pits the USA vs. the World at Quail Hollow Club. Both Max Homa and Collin Morikawa are Presidents Cup rookies.
Morikawa played in the winning Ryders Cup (USA vs. Europe) for the first time last year. He went 3-0-1 in his matches, including clinching the victory for Team USA.
Please excuse the image above of the two Golden Bears wearing red shirts.
The 2022-23 PGA season has just started. With six Cal Bears on the tour, there should be Golden Bears in contention just about every weekend. Morikawa and Homa are also serious contenders at every Majors.
HOLE ON YOU BEARS!
I'm not much of a golf guy but I love watching our Golden Bears excel at it. I'll even give them a pass for wearing red shirts on the President's Cup ad.