Live leaderboard: Round 2 of Genesis Open

NAPA, Calif. — Max Homa chipped in from nearly 33 feet for birdie on the closing hole, then watched as Danny Willett shockingly three-putted from inside 4 feet on Sunday to give Homa his second straight title at the Fortinet Championship. Homa high-fived his caddie when his ball hit the flagstick and dropped. His previous shot from a nearby bunker came up short of the green at the par-5 18th hole. Willett, meanwhile, had a one-shot lead at the rain-soaked PGA TOUR season opener and stuffed his third shot to 3 feet, 7 inches. He rammed his first putt 4 feet, 8 inches by, then missed the comebacker to hand Homa his fifth victory on TOUR. “Them things happen. Luckily we’ve been in a good position all week and then unfortunate things happen when you feel like you need them most,” said Willett, who’s winless in the United States since he took advantage of Jordan Spieth’s collapse to win the 2016 Masters. Homa closed with a 4-under 66 for a total of 16-under 272 and now heads to Charlotte, North Carolina, as a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup with three wins in the past 12 months. Willett shot 69. Taylor Montgomery was alone in third at 13 under after a closing 64. The leaders had their tee times pushed up by nearly four hours in an effort to get the round in before the North course at Silverado Resort & Spa became completely unplayable. Greens that had been hard and fast earlier in the week from the sun and wind were suddenly quite the opposite, slow and soft from all the water. Justin Lower held a one-stroke lead going into the final day while chasing his first title after years of struggles just to secure his TOUR card. The 33-year-old American wound up tied for fourth with Byeong Hun An at 12 under after shooting a 1-over 73. Willett birdied three holes on the front nine to take a three-stroke lead, only to miss a short par putt on the par-5 ninth as Lower birdied to pull back within a stroke. Homa and Willett began the day one shot back of Lower. All three players birdied the par-4 10th. On the par-4 14th, Willett made a miraculous birdie. His tee shot landed behind a tree, and then he whipped the ball around it to the back side of the fringe before sinking a 5-foot putt. On the front nine, Willett birdied Nos. 1, 4 and 8 — making a 7-footer for birdie on the par-4 eighth while Lower made bogey. The 34-year-old Willett, from Sheffield, England, stayed loose, laughed with his caddie and smiled between holes in far from ideal conditions in California’s famous wine country: wind and heavy rain the first three holes, a brief respite, then more rain. He regularly toweled off his clubs, wiped off his shoes before putting and took on and off his black sleeveless vest. The weather made for an intimate gallery of umbrella-holding diehards willing to brave the elements. “It’s what I came to California for,” Willett cracked with a grin in the early going of his final round.

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HOUSTON – It wasn’t the coldest day in Houston Open golf history; after all, this tournament has been played as early as February and as late as the week before Thanksgiving. And it wasn’t the windiest day, although gusts did reach upwards of 30 mph. And it probably wasn’t the toughest day – but it was definitely tougher in Friday’s second round at the Golf Club of Houston than it was in the opening round. Almost two strokes tougher, in fact. Thanks to a strong cold front that arrived mid-morning – bringing rain and isolated thunderstorms that forced a 2-hour suspension – golfers found it difficult to not only break par, but stay warm in temperatures that dropped into the mid-50s. Related: Leaderboard | Soon to be a father, Malnati hopes to deliver a win | Win probabilities The stroke average on Friday was 73.438. It was 71.510 on Thursday at the par-72 course. Afternoon golfers, once they got on the course, felt the brunt of the conditions. Of the 11 golfers who managed to complete their rounds before darkness suspended play, just one – Scott Brown with a 69 – broke 70. Two others were at 71. The other eight did not break par. “It was tough out there,� said Sepp Straka after his afternoon 71 left him at 8 under through two rounds, two shots behind leader Peter Malnati. “It was cold, it was windy, completely different from yesterday morning. Yeah, it was a grind.� Mark Hubbard was one of the morning finishers, and he moved up the leaderboard with a 69. Still, he had to encounter the changing conditions mid-round. “It was weird,� he said. “I was sweating through my gray pants this morning at 7 a.m. and by about our 13th hole, I wished I had another jacket.� Malnati also went off early, and he made the biggest move with a 65 that left him at 10 under and with the solo lead. Talor Gooch, one of the 18-hole co-leaders, is a stroke back. “I went out just purely with the plan of I’m going to give my best effort all the time no matter what,� Malnati said. “… When the weather was good, trying my best on every shot resulted in 5 under through five and then when the weather turned after our long delay, that trying my best on every shot turned into 2 under through my last 13 – and that was still pretty darn good.� The 453-yard par-4 18th hole turned particularly nasty into the wind. It played to a stroke average of 4.891, making it the hardest hole on the course Friday. No player managed a birdie in the 110 players who played the hole. “They moved the tee box two up, so I don’t even think there was another tee box they could have moved it to,� Hubbard said, who noted that after his 238-yard tee shot found the rough near the fairway bunker, he was basically playing for bogey. His playing partners each made par using 3-woods with their approach shots. “I said ‘Good birdie’ to both of them,� Hubbard said. “At that point, I think that was my first bogey of the tournament – and in my mind, I was still bogey-free.� Of the 59 players still left on the course, just eight are at 2 under or better for the rounds. The good news, though, is that they should get improved scoring conditions once play resumes at 9 a.m. ET. The third round will then go off two tees in threesomes starting at approximately noon ET.

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Playing against Tiger Woods has always been intimidating. Playing with him at the Ryder Cup hasn’t been much easier. Will this time be different?

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