[PHOTO: Orlando Ramirez]
When Max Homa’s birdie chip fell in the cup on the 72nd hole today at the Fortinet Championship, he wasn’t the only one grinning from ear to ear. There was also a wry smile on the face of Danny Willett, who appeared certain to win the title when he hit his approach to inside four feet on the 18th hole at Silverado Resort & Spa, but now knew he had a little more work to do to pull it off.
That said, Willett simply needed to roll in his birdie putt and the 34-year-old Englishman would finish at 17-under and win for the second time on the PGA Tour, but the first since his Masters victory in 2016. Given the fact he barely held on to his PGA Tour card for the 2022-2023 season – Willett was 130th on the FedEx Cup eligibility list at the end of the regular season but jumped to 124th when six players jumped to the LIV Golf tour after the Tour Championship – a win was a big deal for a variety of reasons.
But then the unthinkable happened. Despite going 57-for-58 with putts from inside seven feet in Napa, California, over the first 71 holes, Willett awkwardly missed the tournament winner, lipping out left. Even more awkward was the fact he actually left himself a longer comebacker for par to tie Homa and go into a playoff.
Shockingly, Willett then missed the par putt, making bogey to finish the round with a 69 and the tournament at 15-under.
Here’s the entire sequence, for those who don’t mind watching horror movies:
Willett still had a smile as he hugged Homa afterwards. But we’re guessing it’s because he was too stunned to react any other way.
We can’t really end this post on such a downer. So at least enjoy Homa’s impressive birdie chip. Hopefully it washes away the painful image of Willett’s struggles.
