NAPA, Calif. (AP) — Max Homa moved into place to defend his title on the Fortinet Championship, taking pictures a 5-under 67 on Friday to share the early 36-hole lead with Danny Willett on the PGA Tour’s season opener.
Homa, a two-time winner final season and a captain’s choose for subsequent week’s Presidents Cup, had an eagle, 4 birdies and a bogey — his first of the week — for a two-day whole of 12-under 132 at Silverado Resort & Spa.
“The course fits my eyes,” Homa mentioned. (*2*)
The four-time PGA Tour winner performed collegiately at California.
“I’ve got a great support system here,” mentioned Homa, who received the 2013 NCAA particular person title. “I’ve got friends and family up here and a bunch of, you know, people who appreciate I went to school up here.”
Willett, winless in the United States since his triumph on the Masters in 2016, shot a bogey-free 64. The English participant saved his PGA Tour card for this season due to gamers defecting to the Saudi-funded LIV Golf collection.
“Yeah, we kind of got handed a lifeline with the guys leaving, which was nice,” Willett mentioned. “We kind of had to reassess things and decided we’d press on and play a little bit more this fall over here and really try to get some points up early.”
Willett has eight titles on the European tour, most lately final October on the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
He had eight birdies in his second spherical and is bogey-free for the week.
“You know, the rough is hit and miss and with the greens being firm as they are. To go bogey-free is really good,” mentioned Willett, who has solely six top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour since profitable his lone main. “The field game is pretty sharp, the short game’s pretty sharp.”
First-round chief Justin Lower was two pictures again after a 71. His greatest end in 28 earlier PGA Tour occasions courting to 2013 was a tie for eighth.
“It’s always hard to follow up a very low round with another good round or even lower,” Lower mentioned. “But I will take one under today. Could it have been better? Yes, but it definitely could have been worse as well.”
Jason Day, Harris English, Charley Hoffman and Webb Simpson have been among the many gamers who missed the reduce.
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