Matthew Coritz

Mr. California has done it again. Max Homa has taken his career to new heights with his 4th win in California and his 6th overall on the PGA Tour. He did so by firing a final round 66 on the always challenging South Course at Torrey Pines. Homa represents so much of what is good about the game of golf, namely his calm demeanor that exudes a lack of worries and his willingness to battle when everyone else seems to wilt under the pressure. As I was watching the back nine, I recall having a conversation with my dad and brother on Sunday and we all seemed to feel it was inevitable that Homa would win. Some people just have that “it” factor when crunch time rolls around and he most certainly does, evidenced by his record this season of 2 wins, 0 second-place finishes, and 3 top 10s. When he is in contention, the man is going to win. 

At this point in his career, everyone has heard the story of the roller coaster journey Homa has been on. He came out of college with huge expectations after winning the 2013 NCAA individual national championship and for the first few years, he lived up to them. But then he lost all confidence and fell off the tour and even struggled mightily on the Korn Ferry Tour. But then, something clicked. In a few short years, Homa has gone from struggling in the minor leagues to shining on some of the biggest stages in golf. A huge motivating factor for him was those lows he experienced. In an interview with Golf Channel after his second Wells Fargo championship win Homa said, “But I saw $18,000 in a year out here. I saw [what] feeling very, very small, having literally no hope as to getting a top-10, let alone making a cut that season. I carry that because I’ve seen it.” Instead of blocking those tough times in 2015 out of his head, he remembers them and that chip on his shoulder has carried him to the upper echelon of the tour. One thing every golfer, and person for that matter, should learn from Homa is that anything is possible with a good attitude when you put in the work to back it up. In a post-round interview, Homa gave us a glimpse of the brilliant perspective he has discovered throughout his development when he said, “You’re always one good swing thought away from being good again.” Golf frustrates so many of its players. That’s kind of the point. It’s fun to see someone with a “positive vibes only” mindset start to etch his name into the conversation of the game’s best. 

Homa also took a groundbreaking step for golf fans when he did a mid-round interview, strolling the 13th hole with an airpod in one ear and the CBS broadcast team on the other end. He was very open with sharing his thought process concerning his shot selection, shot shaping, and his plan on where to miss, even cracking a few jokes along the way. Don’t be fooled by the fun disposition and his carefree attitude, this is a guy who idolizes Kobe and embodies the Mamba mentality. We’ve seen in-game interviews take hold in a few sports, especially baseball, with players like Bryce Harper getting interviewed after huge postseason home runs. This is a little bit different though seeing that baseball players being interviewed won’t be in the batter’s box for a few more innings. Max on the other hand was answering questions in stride chasing down his ball in the fairway, all while figuring out his next shot. He kept it light, and going on to win the tournament definitely helped to dispel the argument that it would hurt his performance.

Speaking of that stellar field he took down, the stars were out in this one. Among those in contention were Jon Rahm, Colin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala, Keegan Bradley, Hideki Matsuyama, and Tony Finau. Rahm, coming in on his own heater, threw up a dud on Sunday with a disappointing 2 over par final round, effectively eliminating his hopes of an unbelievable 3rd win in a row. Sam Ryder, the 33-year-old looking for his first win, simply couldn’t execute at the same level on the final 9 holes as he had all week. Winning on the PGA tour is hard. It’s as simple as that, and despite a wire-to-wire effort, it wasn’t enough to withstand the charge of some of the bigger names on Sunday evening. Torrey Pines truly never disappoints and is one of my favorite events every year, elevated events and world-ranking based field strength be damned. There’s something about the guys coming down the par 5 18th in the crisp San Diego air with the tournament on the line. Maybe it’s because it evokes the memory of Tiger stalking Rocco Mediate and the roar that followed as he pounced with a 15 foot birdie putt to send the U.S. Open into a playoff all those years ago. Speaking of major victories, with the U.S. Open being played at a course in Los Angeles where Homa grew up, and also where he happens to own the course record, it’s pretty easy to do the math on that one. Is it Max Homa’s year?