Max Homa


Published on   2023-03-02 by Kai

John Maxwell Homa (born November 19, 1990) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. In college, he won the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship in 2013. As a professional, he has won six times on the PGA Tour.

Homa was born in Burbank, Calif. He attended Valencia High School in the Santa Clarita Valley. There, he was a four-time first-team All-Foothill League selection and a 2009 Foothill League "most valuable player" (MVP), where he graduated in 2009.

College golf as a scholarship player

He then played college golf on scholarship at the University of California at Berkeley, earning a degree in consumer behavior. There, as a junior in 2011-12, Homa was a third-team PING Division I All-American and second-team All-Pac-12 and PING Division I All-West Region. As a senior in 2012-13, he was ranked 19th nationally by Golfweek (5/19) and 22nd by Golfstat (5/21).

He was first-team All-Pac-12 and 17th-ranked Palmer Cup and won the Pac-12 Championship with a nine-under-par opening round, breaking the course record on the North Course at Los Angeles Country Club and tying for the lowest round in the U.S.

2008 on America's Cup Team

In 2008, Homa was selected to represent Southern California on the Junior America's Cup Team. In 2009, he won the Ventura County Junior Golf Association's Robinson Ranch. In 2010, he reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur before losing to reigning champion and teammate An Byeong-hun.

Homa finished the year ranked No. 4 in California, No. 33 in the U.S. and No. 78 in the world, according to amateurgolf.com. In 2011, the American won the amateurgolf.com Silicon Valley Amateur. As amateurgolf.com reported, he finished the year ranked 8th in California, 36th in the U.S. and 89th in the world.

In 2012, he finished the year ranked No. 5 in California, No. 18 in the U.S. and No. 50 worldwide, according to amateurgolf.com. Homa competed in the 2013 U.S. Open as an amateur and won the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship. He was selected to the 2013 Walker Cup squad and became a professional golfer after the event.

In October 2013, Homa played his first PGA Tour event as a professional at the Frys.com Open. In December 2013, he finished 6th in the Web.com Tour Qualifying School.

First professional victory in 2014

In May 2014, he earned his first professional victory at the Web.com Tour's BMW Charity Pro-Am, defeating fellow rookie Jonathan Randolph by one stroke. For his efforts, he received $117,000 in prize money. He finished 17th on the Web.com Tour regular season money list, earning his PGA Tour card for the 2014/15 season.

In the 2015 PGA Tour season, Homa participated in 27 events. He made 12 cuts and won $380,339. He finished 163rd in the FedEx Cup standings and lost his Tour card as a result.

PGA Card Lost Again

During the 2016 Web.com Tour season, Homa won the Rust-Oleum Championship in Ivanhoe, Illinois, by seven strokes. That eventually earned him his PGA Tour Card back for the 2016/17 season. During the 2017 PGA Tour season, Homa made just two cuts in 17 events and lost his card again.

That year, he earned just $18,008. In 2017, he wryly tweeted, "I was approached by a couple of caddies recently. They were hoping for employment. Had heard they would normally have weekends off, which apparently is a good selling point."

First success on the PGA Tour

During the 2018 Web.com Tour season, Homa received his PGA Tour card back for the 2019 PGA Tour season. On May 5, 2019, Homa won the Wells Fargo Championship, earning his first PGA Tour victory with a win over Joel Dahmen. Homa received $1.4 million for the win, plus a two-year extension to his PGA Tour card and spots in the 2020 PGA Championship and Masters Tournament.

On Feb. 21, 2021, Homa earned his second PGA Tour victory at the Genesis Invitational in a playoff against Tony Finau. In September 2021, Homa won his third PGA Tour title at the Fortinet Championship, the opening event of the 2021-22 season. In May 2022, Homa won the Wells Fargo Championship for the second time.

Successful at the Presidents Cup in 2022

He finished the season in a tie for 5th place at the Tour Championship. In September 2022, he successfully defended the Fortinet Championship by birdieing the final hole, edging Danny Willett by one stroke. He was selected to play on the U.S. team at the 2022 Presidents Cup, where he won all four of his matches. Homa eventually won the Farmers Insurance Open in January 2023.

Max Homa has been married to Lacey Croom since November 2019. The couple lives with their dog "Scotty" in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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