Napa, Sep 19 (PTI) Indian American Sahith Theegala staged a superb rally in the last seven holes to card 2-under 70 after being 3-over in the first seven holes of the Fortinet Championship here.

Theegala's 70 saw him finish the week at 11-under and finish tied 6th in the opening event of the wrap-around season.

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It also carried the player to 51st position in the official world golf rankings.

Max Homa retained the Fortinet Championship as he chipped in from 33 feet while his rival, Danny Willett three-putted from inside four feet.

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Willett had a one-shot lead coming into the 18th and his bogey on the par-5 18th coupled with Homa's chip-in for birdie meant a two-shot swing that gave Homa a great start to the new season.

Theegala, who made the Tour Championship in his rookie year, had a rough start with bogeys on third and fourth and yet another bogey on seventh to go 3-over.

Birdies on eighth and ninth helped him cover some ground, but he dropped another bogey on 11th. Then came a fine patch with birdies on 14th, 16th and 18th. The putt on 14th was from 33 feet and on the 18th he holed a 24-footer.

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 and Taylor Montgomery was alone in third at 13 under after a closing 64.

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.

The 34-year-old Willett birdied three holes on the front nine to take a three-stroke lead. A bogey on Par-5 ninth when he missed a five-footer for par and then then a bogey on with a three-putt from inside four feet on 18th ruined his week.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)