HOYLAKE, England — Max Homa walks from the 17th tee on Day One of The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on July 20, 2023. | Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Max Homa has never contended at a major, but changed his approach at The Open this week. It seems to have paid off, at least for now.
Max Homa had an up-and-down round on Friday, as he ultimately totaled a 2-over 73 at The Open Championship.
Despite his over-par score, he is 1-under for the tournament. Although that is nine strokes back of leader Brian Harman, Homa is tied for 12th. Anything can happen this weekend, especially with high winds in the forecast.
Homa has notoriously struggled in major championships, which has bothered him for the past few years.
Hence, Homa wrote ‘NFG’ on his glove, giving him a subtle reminder to not care too much about his game every time he makes a swing.
“It’s just kind of a mantra,” Homa said after his opening round Thursday. “It has a bad word in it, so I won’t tell you what it is. It is something I started doing [at the Rocket Mortgage Classic] in Detroit. I just [have to] stop caring so much and let myself just be myself.”
Homa missed the cut at last month’s U.S. Open, which was contested at the Los Angeles Country Club, not far from where he grew up.
“The U.S. Open hurt me a lot,” Homa admitted Thursday. “I played awesome. I had a bad three-hole stretch, and it didn’t feel like I deserved to miss that cut. Then I went to the next week in Connecticut and missed that one by one and played fine.”
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
HOYLAKE, England — Max Homa tees off on the 4th hole on Day Two of The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on July 21, 2023.
Now Homa is playing more than fine at The Open, which has produced difficult conditions thanks to the notorious English summer winds.
His best finish at golf’s oldest major came two years ago in 2021 when Collin Morikawa won the Claret Jug. Homa tied for 40th that year at Royal St. George’s and then missed the cut at St. Andrew’s last year in his only other Open appearance.
Yet, he enters the weekend at Royal Liverpool tied for 12th, and with the wind expected to pick up Friday afternoon, he may have fewer players between him and Harman come day’s end.
Who knows how the day will finish, but one thing is certain: Homa does not have a care in the world anymore, and it seems to have paid off. He is playing well in a major championship for the first time in his career.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
