Max Homa absolutely roared back to form at the PGA Championship on day two as he jumped more than 60 places at the end of his own round to sit within three of the early leaders.
Homa was seven under through 12 at one point and ended up finishing the day at that number as his 64 was his best round at a major since he nearly won The Masters a few seasons back.
For Homa, the relief of getting back to some sort of form will be there in spades.
Homa has admitted he’s been struggling with different elements of his game, while a change in caddy didn’t help either as Joe Greiner immediately went on to win with Justin Thomas.
Still, Homa seems to have been one of few to get the better of Quail Hollow so far this week and speaking to the media after his round, Homa admitted that he finds it seriously impressive to see what the grounds-staff have done.
Max Homa praises Quail Hollow staff after round two of the PGA Championship
After battling the elements yesterday and coming in at two over, Max Homa may have been fearing the worst when he stepped out for round two.
However, with conditions calmer and the course more scorable, Homa took advantage and in doing so, he lauded the staff at Quail.
“Yeah, I think we got really lucky with our wave, I would assume. We had a lot more mud in the afternoon when it was drier. I imagine those guys had it a lot worse in the morning than we did this morning. On two I got one decent, not nearly as bad as yesterday. Yesterday I had a couple that weren’t great,” Homa said.
“I particularly like playing the ball down. I think it just causes chaos for the fans. It’s supposed to be entertaining, so seeing people who can look like robots for a while look completely silly isn’t the worst except when it’s you.
“Yeah, it wasn’t too bad. I mean, it’s pretty remarkable what they’ve done to this golf course. My hat is tipped to everyone here because we were walking in puddles all the way up till Wednesday. Still pretty great. There’s certain spots, the fairway on 8 is the lowest spot, I feel like, on the golf course, and that gets a bit muddy. When you’re hitting a wedge, it’s a little scary. I can imagine by Saturday, Sunday this place is going to be pretty much pristine. The ball is not bouncing a ton on the fairway, but it’s got a little bit more life.”
Max Homa explains his mind-set as conditions change at Quail Hollow
For a player like Max Homa, who has been struggling with his game anyway, the tricky conditions at play at Quail Hollow could complicate matters.
However, Homa has spoken on the mind-set of adapting to those weather changes and admitted that in reality, the greens are actually in much better shape than he imagined.
“No, it’s tricky. It’s kind of like playing at Riv where with the Kikuyu, the greens are rock solid, but if you land it one inch short of the green, the ball isn’t bouncing up,” Homa responded when asked if it altered his thought process.
“So you have to be really precise and thoughtful about what you’re going to do, what shot you’re going to hit. The greens are incredible, for how much rain as they’ve gotten especially. I don’t think it’s changed much. It just requires a little more precision.”
Going into the weekend, Homa finds himself in a position to win for the first time since 2023.
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