American Max Homa overcame an untimely weather delay to claim his first PGA Tour title as Rory McIlroy squandered his chance of a third victory in the Wells Fargo Championship.
Homa, who began the day in a tie for the lead with Joel Dahmen and Jason Dufner, carded a final round of 67 at Quail Hollow to finish 15 under par and three shots clear of Dahmen, with Olympic champion Justin Rose a shot further back.
The 28-year-old from California birdied the fifth, seventh, 10th and 11th and was facing a five-foot putt to save par on the 14th when play was suspended due to bad weather.
After a 62-minute delay, Homa calmly converted the putt to remain three shots ahead and a two-putt birdie on the par-five 15th effectively sealed victory for a player ranked 417th in the world at the start of the week.
Over an hour delay while trying to win for the first time on TOUR. Huge save for @maxhoma23. The lead is still three.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/F3tvjxRrrm — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 5, 2019
Asked for his reaction, Homa told Sky Sports: "Like I'm in a dream I think. I didn't know if this day would ever come, let alone just keeping my (PGA Tour) card.
"But I've been working my tail off and I've been seeing a lot of great results and my gosh it's cool to do it here because I love this place as much as any.
"It's great for my family, my fiance – I'm getting married in a few months – everything's good now."
Let it all out.@MaxHoma23 wins the @WellsFargoGolf in impressive fashion. What a day. #LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/Oo4mQsZqj1 — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 5, 2019
McIlroy, who began his round with six straight pars, looked certain to close the gap to the leaders after hitting two superb shots to the par-five seventh, only to race his eagle putt four feet past the hole and miss the birdie attempt.
Another three-putt resulted in a bogey on the ninth and McIlroy's faint hopes evaporated on the par-five 10th, where the 30-year-old was within 50 feet of the hole in two but proceeded to duff two chip shots and run up a double-bogey seven.
McIlroy, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Saturday with a third round of 68 to lie two shots off the lead, eventually signed for a closing 73 to finish in a tie for eighth.
Former Masters champion Sergio Garcia shared fourth place with Dufner, Paul Casey and Rickie Fowler after dropping two shots in the last three holes in a closing 68.
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