Max Homa and Tiger Woods on the Open Championship earlier this year.
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Much has modified for Max Homa over the previous 5 years, each on and off the golf course.
On the course, the previous standout and 2013 NCAA Individual champion on the University of California went from a possible bust as a professional, who made simply two cuts in 17 begins in 2017 to a five-time winner on the PGA Tour ranked No. 16 on this planet.
Off the course — effectively, take Wednesday, for instance, which was each his third marriage ceremony anniversary along with his spouse Lacey and in addition the one-month birthday of the couple’s new child son, Cam.
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“I’d have been shocked wild if that was like — that was my reminder,” Homa joked when the importance of the day was introduced up at his pre-tournament press convention forward of the Hero World Challenge. “Parenthood is a unique way of life as I’m certain lots of you already know.
“Didn’t expect it to be this kind of difficult. I feel guilty being in beautiful Bahamas while my wife’s grinding changing diapers, but here I am so might as well play well.”
That humorousness has helped cement Homa as one of many prime social media savants on the PGA Tour, evidenced by ending solely behind this week’s host, Tiger Woods, and Justin Thomas in final year’s PIP MVP Index, which amongst issues charges gamers’ social-media attain.
Even after Homa collected his first PGA Tour win, Twitter was what folks finest knew Homa for.
That’s not the case.
Homa gained 4 instances previously two years. In September, he defended his Fortinet Championship title, making it two straight seasons he was the PGA Tour’s first winner of the year.
Earlier this summer season, he was notable sufficient to get paired with U.S. Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick and Homa’s idol, Tiger Woods, within the first two rounds of this summer season’s Open Championship, the place it was broadly assumed Woods would sooner or later have some form of emotional swan music to the Old Course at St. Andrews.
That second got here within the second spherical on 18, and Homa, regardless of lacking his solely lower at a significant in 2022, had a front-row seat for some of the memorable scenes of the golf year.
Now, Home is enjoying in Woods’ personal event. The 20-player subject listing for the Hero World Challenge is unique. At No. 31, Kevin Kisner is the lowest-ranked participant.
It was a praise for Homa to get the Hero nod from Woods, and it’s a fair greater one for the 15-time main winner to be saying good issues about Homa’s swing on digital camera, as he did throughout Tuesday’s Hero Shot occasion.
“I like his move,” Woods might be heard saying to Justin Thomas as Homa was hitting photographs.
There is maybe nobody Homa desires to listen to constructive issues about his recreation from greater than Woods.
“I didn’t hear that, but it is crazy,” Homa stated of the change. “At the Open Championship after we performed, he got here as much as me on, like, the 4th gap and stated my swing seemed nice and I used to be hitting it rather well. That was cool to listen to.
“Anytime you’re kind of around Tiger, especially since I’ve turned pro, it’s not like he’s played a ton of full seasons at least when I was actually on Tour as I’ve bounced back and forth so many times, so anytime he’s around it definitely heightens the excitement of an event. To hear a guy that, you know, I look up to and kind of play golf, because he made it cool, say something nice about me is great. And it was nice to beat him in the wedge thing yesterday, that felt really good.”
Now that Woods is out of the sector this week, Homa is likely one of the big attracts, together with Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler and others. Only the highest names within the sport are within the Bahamas this week.
Homa was requested if he felt like he belonged at a event just like the Hero, or was he nonetheless feeling imposter syndrome.
He stated he already appears like he’s made it.
“I just played the Presidents Cup, so I would say that I feel quite comfortable here,” Homa stated with the cheekiness golf followers have come to count on from him.
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At the Presidents Cup, Homa impressed, going 4-0, together with the memorable fist pump to seal a 1-up win with Billy Horschel in Friday’s final four-ball match. He even took down the International workforce’s breakout star, Tom Kim, on Sunday in what was a matchup of every workforce’s energizer bunny.
Homa admitted it’s nonetheless bizarre to be round Woods, a participant he used to look at at this very occasion when was held within the L.A. space the place Homa grew up. But by way of this being the bar to make him really feel like he was at dwelling among the many world’s finest? That was taken care of at Quail Hollow.
“It’s simply cool to have the ability to play an occasion that’s clearly extremely unique. You must have had an incredible year, I suppose couple years world ranking-wise to be right here, and I really feel it’s like a pleasant reward.
“It’s cool, but I wouldn’t say that getting into this event now makes me feel like I’ve made it just because of the Presidents Cup and whatnot.”
For the longest time, Homa was often known as the Tour’s humorous man, higher identified for his social-media recreation than his golf recreation. If the Presidents Cup was his coming-out celebration, this week on the Hero he will get to benefit from the fruits of the labor that bought him right here.
He nonetheless has locations to enhance on, like the actual fact he’s by no means completed higher than tied for thirteenth in a significant.
“It just has to be partly mental,” Homa stated. “I’ve played quite well in big events. The invitationals out here I’ve played really well in. So I don’t think that it’s too physical, I just think that either my preparation or maybe my kind of anxiety or excitement for the majors is holding me back, but that’s just something I’m going to have to keep learning.”
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Homa had one other sturdy end final week with the discharge of the PIP outcomes. The PIP is meant to mirror a participant’s affect throughout quite a lot of completely different Q-rating-style metrics. The prime 20 gamers within the rankings should play every of the PGA Tour’s elevated occasions this season, plus three extra.
Homa does effectively within the present system because of his social-media savvy, however his OWGR rating (16) is simply two spots increased than his PIP rating (14) now.
“I always thought I was significantly more popular than I was good at golf, so it feels nice that those things are aligning,” he stated.
But not wanting diminish his funnyman model, there was nonetheless one thing he may poke enjoyable at.
“I’m frustrated I lost to Kisner, I’m not quite sure how that happened,” Homa stated of the PIP outcomes. “Played better than him, carried him at the QBE last year, so not sure how I lost to him, so that was disappointing. Just back to the drawing board, got to figure out more ways to impact the golfing world.”
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