Max Homa gets real on fans’ savage reaction to playing with Rory McIlroy at The Open

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Max Homa’s reaction to playing with Rory McIlroy at the Open Championship is iconic and possibly a preview of the Ryder Cup later this year.

Max Homa knows firsthand how hard it can be to play with guys like Rory McIlroy. At the Open Championship, though, it’s a little different.

“I kind of like the yelling because it makes me laugh,” Homa said after his round with McIlroy on Saturday. “I had a guy yell at me, ‘Hurry up. No one’s watching you anyways today.’ Which I quite like, if I’m being honest.”

That blunt reaction from the fans would rattle anyone, but Homa is used to it. He played with McIlroy in the states before. He also played alongside Tiger Woods at the 150th Open Championship.

When golfers like Homa play with iconic names like McIlroy and Woods, it’s all about silencing that outside noise or even embracing it. The 32-year-old knew it’d be different than an average round because so many more people follow McIlroy.

“I told myself, that’s what you’re going to deal with all day,” Homa said. “If everybody is moving, no one is moving type of thought. It’s just a lot… If I hit a good shot and he hits an okay shot, he gets a roar, and I get a couple of claps. That was the only bummer of the day.”

However, Homa took the experience as a warm-up for the Ryder Cup. The Southern California native is trying to work his way onto the American team. He knows if he makes it, Saturday’s round was light compared to what could happen in Italy.

“I obviously didn’t think of myself as the antagonist, but he was clearly the protagonist,” Homa said. “I was thinking if I could make this Ryder Cup team, it would have obviously a very similar feel to it. I thought this would be good practice if and when I can make that team.”