San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Cal alum Homa goes 4under on par3s
PEBBLE BEACH — Max Homa, the Cal alum and Twitter sensation, added another distinction Saturday: prince of Pebble’s par3s.
Homa made birdie on all four of those holes in his 4underpar 68. He became the first player since Chad Collins in 2011 to achieve the feat in a round at Pebble Beach, and just the seventh player since 1983 (including Tiger Woods in ’97).
“Sick,” Homa said, succinctly.
His longest of the four birdie putts came on No. 17, the difficult, 196yard par3 heading toward Carmel Bay. Homa hit his tee shot to about 20 feet (with a 6iron) and then made the putt to complete his unique grand slam.
Homa will begin Sunday’s final round at 9under for the tournament, on the fringe of contention (tied for 11th) as he chases his second PGA Tour victory. Homa won the 2013 NCAA individual championship, as a Cal senior.
He boasts more than 200,000 followers on Twitter, mostly because of his amusing and often hilarious observations. Homa encourages recreational golfers to share videos of their swing, and then he goodnaturedly roasts them.
In a 2019 interview with The Chronicle, a few months before his breakthrough victory in Charlotte, N.C., he said of his socialmedia popularity, “I probably have a fairly large fan base compared to what I deserve for my golf.”
McNealy stays in the fray: Maverick McNealy, who grew up in Portola Valley and attended Stanford, gave himself a chance in Sunday’s final round. McNealy shot 69 to reach 10under for the tournament, tied for seventh and three shots behind leader Jordan Spieth. McNealy overcame an unlucky, oneshot penal
ty Saturday: His ball moved as he addressed it on No. 5, after he took relief from a plugged lie. That led to his only bogey of the day; he made birdie on No. 6 and then finished with 12 consecutive pars. Now, on the same course where he served as his dad’s ProAm caddie while in college, McNealy will chase his first PGA Tour win Sunday.
“I wouldn’t rather be in this position anywhere else,” he said. “I know the conditions and I know the golf course. It’s a place I’m comfortable.”
Briefly: Jason Day ,a 12time tour winner seeking his first victory in nearly three years, joined McNealy in the group at 10under after shooting 68 on Saturday . ... Francesco Molinari, the 2018 British Open champion making his AT&T debut, staggered to 4over 76 after topping his tee shot on No. 1 (with a 3wood). Yep, a stonecold groundball.