In Napa, Cal alum Homa gets his third victory
Cal alum wins at Silverado, surges with 65 to top McNealy
Barely more than 21⁄2 years ago, when Max Homa mostly was known as the funny golfer on Twitter, he acknowledged the uncommon disparity between his avid following and his pedestrian results on the PGA Tour.
“I probably have a fairly large fan base compared to what I deserve for my golf,” Homa said then.
Nowm his game is catching up to his big personality.
Homa, a Cal alum who won the 2013 NCAA individual championship, pocketed his third PGA Tour victory Sunday in Napa. He earned it, shooting a final-round 65 to surge past Stanford alum Maverick McNealy (68) and win the Fortinet Championship at Silverado Resort by one stroke.
The win punctuated Homa’s transformation from socialmedia sensation — including hilariously roasting swing videos from random recreational players — to top player. Homa stood No. 44 in the world ranking before Sunday’s win, so he figures to climb into the top 40 when the new rankings are released Monday.
Homa is still wildly entertaining on Twitter — and his following has skyrocketed from 22,000 in February 2019 to nearly 293,000 — but he’s also scaling back his digital presence. He stopped doing his popular “Get a Grip” podcast with Golf Channel’s Shane Bacon this month, mostly for time management reasons.
So don’t be fooled by the quips. Homa, 30, wants to be known as a good golfer who also happens to be funny.
“I feel like the game is catching up,” he said. “I think the misconception about me is because of the social media thing, people think I’m kind of goofy and aloof a little bit. For people who know me, I work really, really hard. I pride myself on it.
“I’m very thankful to have such a big (Twitter) following even before I probably should have. But I also know my game, if it keeps going the way I think it can, it should even out at some point.”
Homa showed off his exceptional ball-striking skills on a firm, fast Silverado North layout. He ranked No. 2 in the field in strokes gained/tee to green, which means he seldom got in trouble off the tee and often hit good approach shots.
Or look at it this way: Homa played his final 28 holes of the tournament in 14-under-par. That’s downright scorching.
None of this surprised his caddie and childhood friend, Joe Greiner. They’ve known each other since Homa was 6 and Greiner was 10, playing a modest, par-61 public course (Vista Valencia) in their hometown outside Los Angeles.
Greiner knows Homa, for his comic tendencies off the course, tends to become stoic and serious with club in hand. That’s fine, to a point.
“That’s going to be the next step, being completely himself,” Greiner said. “He has an intensity that’s really good for golf. When the pressure is on, he’s really focused. But I think it’s good to start the tournament relaxed and see where it goes.”
Homa earned All-America honors at Cal after winning the Pac-12 and NCAA individual titles as a senior in 2013. Still, it took him time to find his way on tour — he won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour (in 2014 and ’16) but didn’t pick up his first PGA Tour victory until two years ago at the event in Charlotte, N.C.
Then, in February, he won his hometown event in Los Angeles, outlasting Tony Finau in a playoff at Riviera Country Club.
Homa hopped into the fray in an improbable way Sunday. His 95-yard wedge shot on No. 12, from the right rough, landed on the front of the green, rolled and rolled and rolled … and disappeared into the hole for eagle, vaulting Homa one shot off the lead.
“Twitter me would have said that was my little Tiger moment,” Homa said.
Then, on No. 13, Homa drained a 21-foot birdie putt to pull even with McNealy at 17under. Big Game on, Cal vs. Stanford down the stretch.
By then, Homa and McNealy had separated themselves from the pack. Homa prevailed by playing the final seven holes in 5-under, while McNealy stumbled with a double bogey on No. 17. That meant his eagle on 18 left him one shot short of a playoff.
McNealy’s quest for his maiden professional victory, much like Homa’s meandering route, shows the difficulty of winning on the PGA Tour. McNealy earned consensus national player-of-the-year honors as a Stanford sophomore in 2015 and became the world’s top-ranked amateur.
Then he turned pro and vanished into the pack.
But McNealy, 25, after two seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour and two on the PGA Tour, is getting closer. He finished 58th on the FedEx Cup points list last season, posted a careerbest second-place finish in February at Pebble Beach and enjoyed a steady if unspectacular summer.
Now he seems on the brink of a breakthrough triumph, despite Sunday’s misstep.
“My first and second years on the Korn Ferry Tour were challenging in a lot of ways,” McNealy said. “That serves as the foundation I’m building on now, and I’m really excited to see the direction my game is trending.”
Briefly: Phil Mickelson struggled Sunday, shooting 75 to tumble into a tie for 36th . ...
Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama played his best round of the week (66) and tied for sixth . ... Patrick Rodgers, a Stanford alum, also tied for sixth after shooting 67.