LOS ANGELES – The dream of winning at Riviera Country Club felt too good to be true for Max Homa, and it nearly was.
Needing a birdie on the 18th hole Sunday to win the Genesis Invitational, he hit a sand wedge to a back pin and the ball settled three feet away from the cup, setting up the storybook finish for a guy who grew up 30 miles away and has been watching this tournament his whole life.
And then he missed.
After that, with his ball next to the base of a tree left of the 10th green on the first playoff hole, Homa hooded a gap wedge with enough topspin to scoot up the Kikuyu grass and onto the edge of the green, setting up par. Tony Finau missed a seven-footer, and Homa was happy just to get to the next hole.
Homa won on the second extra hole when Finau failed to save par from a bunker, missing a 10-foot putt.