Max Homa started the final round Saturday with a five-shot lead, but the former Cal standout shot a 6-under 66 at Torrey Pines to win the Farmers Insurance Open by two shots. It was his sixth PGA Tour victory.
Another former UC golfer, Colin Morikawa, who also took part in the full-day event, shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday and finished at 10 under for the final In third place, three strokes behind the leader.
But the day belonged to Homa, who birdied the final hole to finish at 13 under and likely boosted his world rankings, entering the weekend at No. 16. His wife Lacey and infant son Cam, who is nearly 3 months old, were also there to watch Houma put in a strong final round to end up with a two-shot lead over Keegan Bradley, who finished Sprinted and shot 6-under 66 for the day, 11 under for the Championship.
It was the final blow for his wife and infant son.
Homa also won the first tournament of the 2022-23 season, the Fortinet Championship, and joins Jon Rahm as the only players to win two tournaments this season.
Sam Ryder had a two-shot lead going into the final round but struggled midway through Saturday’s session, making double bogey on the 15th holeday That hole doomed his chances. He tied for fourth at 9 under after shooting a 3-over 75 Saturday.
The turning point came on Houma’s 16th hole, while Ryder played the 15th. Homa made a birdie putt on the 16th to give Ryder a share of the lead, and a few seconds later Ryder made a double-bogey 6 to put Homa in the lead by himself.
As we can see in the video below, it was a series of great shots that gave Homa the title:
Homa No. 3
Homa’s in-and-out par performance on the 8th hole was impressive:
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Homa birdies 9th to tie for lead
Homer birdied the 11th to put him in the lead for about a minute before Ryder tied with him with a birdie on the 10th.
Somewhat overlooked in Homa’s winning performance was the strong performance of Morikawa, who has been strong in three straight games.
He finished sixth at the Hero World Challenge in early December, second at the Sentinel Championship earlier this month, and is now third.
Here’s Morikawa’s birdie putt on the fifth hole Saturday:
Collin Morikawa
Photo by: Ray Acevedo, USA TODAY
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Max Homa cover photo by Ray Acevedo for USA TODAY
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