Max Homa defends title at Fortinet Championship

Max Homa shot a final-round 68 on a rainy Sunday in Napa, California, to successfully defend his title in an exciting finish at the Fortinet Championship.

Homa entered the 18th hole one shot back of Danny Willett while playing in the final group with Willett and Justin Lower.

Homa's third shot landed short of the green, just under 33 feet from the hole. He needed to hole his chip to match Willett at 16-under, and miraculously, Homa sunk his chip.

But it wasn't over yet. Willett still had his own birdie putt - just over three feet - that would move him one stroke ahead of Homa and earn him the win. Willett missed, leaving himself a larger par putt to send the tournament to a playoff against the defending champion.

This is where things went from bad to worse for Willett. He once again missed his putt, this one just over 4 feet, leaving him 18 inches for bogey. He tapped that in to finish one back of Homa.

Taylor Montgomery - playing in his first TOUR start since graduating from the Korn Ferry Tour at the end of the 2021-22 season - finished alone in third, three strokes back of Homa. Byeong Hun An and Lower rounded out the top five, finishing tied for fourth at 12-under.

The chaos on the 72nd hole Sunday and Willett's meltdown from within four feet resulted in Homa's spectacular finish and fifth TOUR victory.

"I've had a lot of people tell me that if the LIV guys didn't leave, I wouldn't have made the Presidents Cup team," Homa said following his win, according to Golf Digest. "So, I had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder this week."

Homa will now head east to Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he and the rest of the U.S. Team will take on the International Team for the Presidents Cup starting Sept. 22.