Some players didn’t do too well in the Presidents Cup tune up.
If the PGA Tour’s season-opening Fortinet Championship is foreshadowing anything, next week could be rough for the International team at the Presidents Cup.
The United States is heavily favored at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte in an event it has lost only once in its history. The International team, which features plenty of talent but a lot of newcomers after the losses of Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann, among others, to the LIV Golf Series, would pull off a huge upset if it were to find a way to be victorious.
Yet members of the International team struggled at Silverado Resort’s North Course while the lone U.S. member sits in the lead.
Max Homa, the defending champion, is tied for the lead at 12 under. The other U.S. connection is assistant captain Webb Simpson, who is a member at Quail Hollow. He missed the cut, which was at 2 under, after rounds of 70-74 put him at even par.
For the Internationals, Cam Davis and Corey Conners can head east early. Davis, from Austrailia, shot 2 under in the second round, but a 74 on Thursday had him in an early hole. Conners, a Canadian who has one PGA Tour victory, birdied four of his last five holes on the front nine to make the turn at 3 under for the day and 5 under for the tournament, but he had two bogeys, a triple bogey and no birdies on the back nine to miss the cut.
Hideki Matsuyama was below the cut line with only three holes to play, but he birdied Nos. 16 and 18 to make the cut at 3 under. Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion, has the second-most experience among International Presidents Cup members, trailing only Adam Scott on this year’s team.
Taylor Pendrith, the 31-year-old Canadian making his first Presidents Cup appearance, made the cut. He was on the number until a birdie on the 18th, moving him to 3 under for the tournament.
NAPA, Calif. – Max Homa isn’t a superstitious guy, the type of defending champion that gets the same room number and eats at the same restaurants as the previous year when he shot a pair of 65s on the weekend at Silverado Resort’s North Course to win the Fortinet Championship by one stroke.
“I just go wherever my wife tells me,” he said. “I guess I’ve kept that the same.”
After 36 holes, he’s putting up a strong title defense, racing to a share of the lead with Englishman Danny Willett at 12-under 132.
“I’m very proud of one bogey,” Homa said. “I was hoping for no bogeys, but I’m very proud of one bogey, so that’s kind of how I try to go about and play golf.”
He’s seven strokes better through two rounds of this event than he was when he lifted the trophy a year ago, but Homa said his game doesn’t feel too different this go-round.
“I drove the ball unbelievable last year, if I remember right. This year, my mid irons have been really good, but it’s not too far off,” he said. “My game from last year all the way to now, from this event last year to now feels very similar, which is great. It’s just a testament to my coach, Mark Blackburn. It feels like I’m doing the same stuff, I’m just getting a little better at it, so it feels quite similar. I get on these greens and I feel like I read them really well.”
Always a strong iron player, Homa ranked second in proximity to the hole in the first round (25’3”) en route to making birdies on five of his first 10 holes and shooting 65 on Thursday. He matched his hot start on Friday, including a 15-foot eagle at the par-5 16th. So far, he’s finding fairways to set up plenty of wedge shots, a part of his game that he says is vastly improved the last few years.
“I didn’t launch it low enough, so it made my dispersion on accuracy a little bit off and it makes getting the number a bit harder, not as much spin when it goes that high, so change in technique,” he said. “That’s just my favorite thing to practice now. I like talking the launch monitors out and just grinding those. I do it when I’m home, I do it when I’m on the road. It’s kind of a fun game to play, so I enjoy working on it. Give me I guess a year now, year and a half now working on that has got me quite a bit better and I think a lot of it is just the joy of practicing it.”
Of those games he likes to play, he said, “I usually give myself a three-yard margin on the carry, and sometimes when I’m home I’ll try to hit little hooks, little cuts, just whatever, and pick numbers in my head, random. Just little stuff like that.”
Homa, who represented the stars and stripes in the Walker Cup in 2013, is counting the days until he makes his debut representing Team USA at the Presidents Cup.
“I’m proud that I haven’t jumped ahead a week and I told myself to get in some good form going into next week at the least,” he said.
He’s done better than that, so far. Homa is a Southern California native, who grew up on poa annua greens and gained nearly three strokes on the field with his putter on Friday. As a Cal Bears grad, he is cheered as well in the Napa Valley, which is situated 46 miles northeast of San Francisco, and has evolved into one of America’s greatest lures for those who count food and wine as passions. Homa already has joined his wife for meals at Ad Hoc, Botega and French Laundry.
Everything you need to know for Friday’s second round.
After a brief two week break following the Tour Championship, the PGA Tour is back in action with a brand new season.
The 2022-23 season, the final to feature a wraparound schedule, teed off on Thursday with the 2022 Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California. The event was formerly known as the Safeway Open.
We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.
When Justin Lower chipped in for the second time of the day, his caddie said, “Time to go buy a lottery ticket.”
NAPA, Calif. – When Justin Lower chipped in for the second time of the day at Silverado Resort’s North Course, his new caddie, Chad Gonzales, turned to the other caddies in his threesome and said, “Time to go buy a lottery ticket.”
It was that type of day for Lower, who holed out on Nos. 5 and 7 en route to making birdie on the half the holes and opening a three-stroke lead when was play was suspended due to darkness in the first round of the Fortinet Championship.
Lower was the hard-luck loser, who finished 126th in the FedEx Cup regular season standings and gave an emotional interview at the Wyndham Championship, the final regular-season event.
That meant that Lower had to go back and play in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals to try to earn his card back. He had competed in the first two events and likely had locked up his Tour card for the new season when several players defected to LIV Golf and Lower was suddenly full-exempt for the coming season for the first time in his career.
After a few weeks off, the PGA Tour is back in Napa, California, for the start of its 2022-23 season. The Fortinet Championship will be held at Silverado Resort and Spa (North course) with Max Homa, the defending champion, as the betting favorite at +1200 (12/1).
Behind Homa are Corey Conners and Hideki Matsuyama, who are tied at +1300 (13/1). Maverick McNealy, who came up just short last year in Napa and finished second, is +2000 (20/1).
Silverado is a par-72 track that measures just over 7,100 yards (yardage subject to change depending on day).
Check out some of the best photos from the opening weekend of the new PGA Tour season below.
Check out this gallery of the hats, shirts and more at the PGA Tour’s 2022-23 season opener.
The 2022 Fortinet Championship is the first event on the PGA Tour’s 2022-23 schedule, which is the last time there will be a wrap-around format. Starting in 2024, the Tour returns to a calendar year schedule.
Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California, is the host venue once again. The course first opened in 1955.
Max Homa has returned to defend his title. Two of his four PGA Tour wins have come in his home state of California. He also won the 2021 Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles.
As the Tour returns from a two-week break since the end of last season, the merchandise tents are loaded up for fans. Check out this gallery of the hats, shirts and more.
Homa hasn’t reached the end of his journey; he plans to just keep going.
NAPA, Calif. – Earlier this year, Max Homa was asked during an interview if he could be anyone for a day, who would he be?
Homa answered Davis Love III, U.S. Presidents Cup Captain.
“So I could pick myself for the team,” he said.
Last week, Love phoned Homa and told him that he was one of his six captain’s picks to represent Team USA at next week’s Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“I’ve known since the start of the year Max had a passion for playing on this team,” Love said.
Homa, who won twice last season and finished fifth in the FedEx Cup, seemed to be a slam-dunk pick, but that didn’t decrease how meaningful hearing Love’s confirmation meant to him.
“The opportunity to represent my country as a part of the Presidents Cup is tremendous, but the thing that’s been lingering in my brain since that phone call is I set out a goal at the end of last year and I said I’m making this Presidents Cup team,” Homa said. “I would not trade my attempt at my goal for anything. Like that’s what matters to like my soul and to fulfill that like promise to myself that I was making this fricking team meant a lot to me.”
Before Homa sports the red, white and blue, he is back to defend his title at the Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort’s North Course, the kickoff event to the 2022-23 PGA Tour season. He made his first pro start at this event when it used to be played in Arizona, finishing tied for ninth in 2013. For Homa, a former NCAA men’s individual champion, the sky seemed the limit but first he plummeted to No. 959 in the world at the end of 2017, a forgettable season when he earned $18,008 on the Tour, made just two cuts and played one Sunday.
“I used to say when I hit rock bottom I found a shovel and kept digging,” Homa said.
Max Homa holds the Championship Trophy after winning the Wells Fargo Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports
Homa, who banked more than $5 million in official money last season and has climbed to No. 22 in the world, has a tattoo with the word relentless on his forearm.
“Every single golfer has to go through mental hurdles that could derail their career,” said NBC golf analyst Notah Begay III. “When you come through the other side, it lends itself to a deeper appreciation of your abilities. He has an elevated confidence in his game because he survived the rough waters. You can see through his interaction with the media and his social media presence that he’s got a deep sense of appreciation.”
Asked what advice he’d now give to his younger self in 2013, Homa said, “Keep going.”
“I remember sitting in the hotel room (during the lean years) and I wanted somebody to come down from the heavens and just say this is how good you are, like a number,” Homa said during his pre-tournament interview. “Tell me I’m 22 in the world if that’s what it is, or is it 1,000. I didn’t really care, I just wanted to know what that number was and I committed to myself that I’m just going to see where I can get to. I’m going to make sure that there will be no stone unturned, and I will figure out how good I am.”
Homa became glassy-eyed as he continued: “The ‘keep going’ thing is just important because it’s like there’s that picture, I don’t know, if it’s a meme or whatever, but it’s a picture of a guy picking with an axe and he’s just like hammering it, he’s digging for diamonds and gold or whatever and he gets to where there’s like one more hit and he would have got to it and he turns around and leaves. It’s like you might as well just keep going. Failure is in quitting.
“That’s something I think I’ve had, but it would have been even more useful to tell myself in 2013 like if you just keep digging it, you’ll be quite happy in the end.”
Homa, 31, hasn’t reached the end of his journey; he plans to just keep going.
Everything you need to know for Thursday’s first round.
After a brief two-week break following the Tour Championship, the PGA Tour is back in action with a brand new season.
The 2022-23 season, the final to feature a wraparound schedule, tees off on Thursday with the 2022 Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California. The event was formerly known as the Safeway Open.
Max Homa is back to defend his title and make his final preparations before making his 2022 Presidents Cup debut next week at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. Fellow President Cuppers in the field include Hideki Matsuyama, Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith, and Cam Davis.
We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.
There’s only one word to describe Garcia after ditching the BMW PGA Championship.
It was an interesting week in golf. Queen Elizabeth II passed away Thursday afternoon and play at the BMW PGA Championship was stopped. Play resumed on Saturday morning without one of the LIV members that was in the field.
Andy Nesbitt and I had some things to say on the subject.
We recap Shane Lowry’s win, Rory McIlroy coming close once again and Billy Horschel naming names early in the week.
Then, we run through both Presidents Cup rosters.
Finally, we preview this week’s Fortinet Championship in Napa, California. After picking Lowry at the BMW PGA, let’s get another outright winner on this side of the pond.
After several close calls last season, keep an eye on Theegala in Napa.
And just like that, we’re back. It’s time for the start of the 2022-23 PGA Tour season and the boys are in Napa, California, for the Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort and Spa (North Course).
Understandably, Homa enters this year’s event as the betting favorite at +1300 (13/1). Hideki Matsuyama and Corey Conners are next on the list, tied at +1500 (15/1). Last year’s runner-up, McNealy, sits at +2000 (20/1).
Let’s dive into our first Tour preview of the season.
Silverado Spa and Resort (North) | Par 72 | 7,123 yards
A general view of the course during round one of the Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort and Spa on September 16, 2021, in Napa, California. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
Key stats
Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
Total driving
Data Golf Information
Course Fit (compares golf courses based on the degree to which different golfer attributes — such as driving distance — to predict who performs well at each course – DataGolf): 1. Annandale GC, 2. Memorial Park Golf Course, 3. TPC Scottsdale
Percent chance to win (based on course history, fit, trending, etc.): 1. Max Homa (4.8 percent), 2. Corey Conners (4.7 percent), 3. Taylor Pendrith (3.7 percent)
