Max Homa is now a PGA Tour record holder.
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Rory McIlroy might have set the PGA Tour driving distance record final season, however in 2024, Max Homa is the PGA Tour’s greatest hitter.
With situations ripe for big drives at Kapalua this week, already resulting in 220 400-yard drives via three rounds at the Sentry, Homa unleashed a poke for the record books Saturday.
On the seventh gap — his sixteenth of the day — Homa ripped one on the 525-yard downhill par-4 that rolled, and rolled, and rolled earlier than ending simply 43 yards from the gap. The bomb measured out to 477 yards, the longest in the PGA Tour’s Shotlink period (since 2003). It simply edges out Davis Love III’s 476 drive on the 18th of the closing spherical at the 2004 occasion at Kapalua.
Unfortunately, Homa began the third spherical Saturday T23 and in the first group of the day on the tenth tee, so there was no video on the NBC or ESPN+ broadcasts of the record drive. Nor did the PGA Tour have a radar system on the seventh tee at the time so we have no idea the launch statistics for the tee shot.
Nevertheless, it’s not exhausting to determine how Homa was capable of accomplish the feat as the seventh, which is already considerably downhill from tee-to-green, performed downwind too throughout the third spherical. In reality, the common drive in the 59-man discipline Saturday on the gap went 406.3 yards, the longest of any gap at the Plantation course. No drive went lower than 338 yards on No. 7.
Stats (and large drives) reveal why Kapalua is one in all the most unusual programs on Tour
Jack Hirsh
That’s all regardless of Homa being simply the 62nd-ranked golfer in driving distance final season with a 304.8 common. McIlroy set a PGA Tour record for driving distance final season at 326.3 yards.
While the USGA is targeted on rolling again the golf ball, it was simple gravity that led to the record-breaking tee ball.
Anyway, in traditional Max Homa-form, the 33-year-old smart man had just a little enjoyable with the achievement on Twitter.
“For it being uphill into the wind with no roll,” Homa tweeted, doubtless sarcastically, “I was pretty proud of this one.”
In addition to being the longest drive on No. 7, Homa’s tee shot was additionally simply one in all 13 (22%) to remain in the fairway Saturday. The fairway slopes exhausting from left to proper and lots of drives Saturday caught a bunker — or the tough round it — that’s simply 420 yards off the tee. The fairway necks round 430 yards from the tee.
They say, “Drive for show, putt for dough,” however Homa made good on his mammoth tee ball by getting the flip wedge up and down. His pitch ended up lower than 4 toes from the gap and he transformed for his fourth birdie of the day.
Homa added one other birdie on 8 and parred the ninth to put up a five-under 68. He’ll begin the closing spherical T17 at 15 beneath, six pictures behind chief Chris Kirk.
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