Fortinet Championship: What to know for the 2022-23 TOUR season opener

After a couple of weeks off following the conclusion of the 2021-22 schedule, the PGA TOUR returns for the 2022-23 season, starting with the Fortinet Championship in Napa, California.

This season will be the end of the wrap-around schedule, as 2024 will return to a calendar year format. The Fortinet features an $8-million purse - a $1-million increase from last season - and will award the winner 500 FedEx Cup points. These points will be more important than ever, as only 70 players will qualify for this season's FedEx Cup Playoffs - down from 125.

When: Sept. 15-18
Where: Napa, California

How to watch

Last year's result

Max Homa defeated Maverick McNealy by one stroke in late 2021 to win his third PGA TOUR title at 19-under. He fired back-to-back rounds of 65 over the weekend to close out the tournament. It was the first of two wins for Homa in 2022 - his first multi-win season on TOUR.

Homa started the final round two strokes back of co-leaders McNealy and Jim Knous. McNealy held a share of the lead after both the second and third rounds but was unable to fend off Homa come Sunday.

Mito Pereira finished third at 16-under, while Talor Gooch and Marc Leishman finished tied for fourth at 15-under.

Recent winners

2022: Max Homa (-19) over Maverick McNealy
2021: Stewart Cink (-21) over Harry Higgs
2020: Cameron Champ (-17) over Adam Hadwin
2019: Kevin Tway (-14) in a playoff over Ryan Moore, Brandt Snedeker
2018: Brendan Steele (-15) over Tony Finau
2017: Brendan Steele (-18) over Patton Kizzire
2016: Emiliano Grillo (-15) in a playoff over Kevin Na
2015: Sangmoon Bae (-15) over Steven Bowditch
2014: Jimmy Walker (-17) over Vijay Singh

The field

Defending champion Homa is joined by six of the past seven winners of the event - with Sangmoon Bae being the only recent winner not in the field.

Four of the Presidents Cup International team members are in California this week: Hideki Matsuyama, Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith, and Cam Davis. For the U.S. team, Homa is the only player in the field. This is the last tournament before next week's showdown at Quail Hollow.

Other notable players in Napa this week include recent Korn Ferry TOUR graduate Justin Suh as well as Rickie Fowler and Jason Day.

Notable groups (all times ET)

Group: Hideki Matsuyama, Cam Davis, Corey Conners
Thursday - 10:44 a.m. (No. 10 tee)
Friday - 3:54 p.m.

Group: Joel Dahmen, Harris English, Rickie Fowler
Thursday - 10:55 a.m. (No. 10 tee)
Friday - 4:05 p.m.

Group: Tom Hoge, Trey Mullinax, J.J. Spaun
Thursday - 3:54 p.m. (No. 1 tee)
Friday - 10:44 a.m.

Group: Max Homa, Cameron Champ, Michael Kim
Thursday - 4:05 p.m. (No. 1 tee)
Friday - 10:55 a.m.

The course

The Fortinet Championship will return to Silverado Resort and Spa's North course, which has hosted the tournament every year since the 2014-15 season. A par-72, 7,123-yard layout, Silverado's course first opened in 1955 and was additionally worked on about 10 years ago by Johnny Miller.

Silverado's 72-hole record for the tournament was set by Stewart Cink in the 2020-21 season with a 267. The tournament record is 262, set by five different players at Grayhawk Golf Club. The 18-hole record is 61, set by five different players, including most recently by Chesson Hadley in the 2017-18 season at Silverado.

Betting corner

Corey Conners +1600
Hideki Matsuyama +1600
Max Homa +1600
Maverick McNealy +2500
Sahith Theegala +2500
Taylor Pendrith +3000
Cam Davis +3300
Davis Riley +3500
Emiliano Grillo +4000
Tom Hoge +4000
Brendan Steele +5000
Denny McCarthy +5000
Taylor Montgomery +5000
Troy Merritt +5000

Odds via theScore Bet