Max Homa Wins Farmers Insurance Open By Two Strokes

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Max Homa shot a 6-under-par 66 today at Torrey Pines Golf Course's South Course to win the $8.7 million Farmers Insurance Open by two strokes over fellow American Keegan Bradley.

Homa entered the round among four golfers tied for fourth, five strokes behind leader Sam Ryder. Ryder added a stroke to his lead by birdieing the par-4 first hole.

Playing one group behind Ryder, Homa moved within two strokes of the lead with birdies third, fifth, and six holes while Ryder bogeyed the par-4 seventh. Ryder lost another stroke off his lead with a bogey on the par-3 eighth hole, his first back-to-back bogeys of the tournament.

Homa moved into a tie for the lead with a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole while Ryder bogeyed the par-5 eighth hole.

The golfers remained tied after Ryder birdied the 10th hole and Homa the 11th.

Homa fell a stroke behind Ryder when he bogeyed the par-4 14th hole.

Ryder dropped out of the lead for good when he double-bogeyed the par-4 16th hole, his only double-bogey of the tournament.

Homa kept a two-stroke lead over Bradley with a birdie on the par-3 16, while Bradley, playing one group behind Homa, birdied the par-4 17th hole.

Bradley missed a chance to take a share of the lead on the 18th hole when his birdie putt from 24 feet, 5 inches stopped 17 inches past the hole.

Homa birdied the 18th hole to complete the tournament at 13-under-par 275. He earned $1.566 million for his sixth PGA Tour victory and second of the 2022-23 PGA Tour season.

Ryder finished his round at 3-over 75, dropping into a three-way tie for fourth, at 9-under 279, four strokes off the lead.

Ryder called his round "a combination of bad shots and a couple bad breaks and not enough made putts.

"It's a very fine line between par and double bogey out here on this course,'' said Ryder, who was seeking his first victory in his 147 PGA Tour starts.

Jon Rahm, who began the round in second, two strokes off the lead in pursuit of being the first player to win in three consecutive tournaments on the PGA Tour since Dustin Johnson in 2017, shot a 2-over 74 to drop into a tie for seventh at 8-under 280, five strokes off the lead.

For the second consecutive year, the tournament concluded on Saturday, one day earlier than usual. The start was moved to Wednesday to avoid a conflict with Sunday's telecasts of the NFL conference championship games, American television's most-watched programming outside of Super Bowl Sunday.

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CNS-01-28-2023 23:58