Max Homa reveals what happened on the driving range before firing a 63 on day one at the John Deere Classic

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Max Homa returned to form in style with a superb round of eight-under par 63 at the John Deere Classic on Thursday.

Homa has been in the golfing doldrums over the past 12 months, with seven missed cuts and a withdrawal to his name in 16 PGA Tour events this season.

Despite the odd flicker of light and a few false dawns, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that 2025 has been a disaster for the 24-year-old.

However, the man from Burbank, California, rediscovered some of his best stuff in the first round of the John Deere Classic on Thursday.

His round of 63 consisted of nine birdies and a solitary bogey on his final hole of the day. He hit 14 out of 18 greens, 10 out of 14 fairways and ended the day in tied second place in the strokes gained total category.

Homa spoke before the John Deere Classic about the help he has received from his fellow PGA Tour players throughout his recent struggles.

However, there is no better tonic for poor form than a sparkling round of 63.

After his opening round 68 at the Memorial Tournament last week, Homa said that he is swinging the golf club better than ever.

However, that proved to be a false dawn. Let’s hope that this week has a very different ending.

What a great round of golf that was from Homa on Thursday at TPC Deere Run

The six-time PGA Tour winner burst out of the blocks with a run of four birdies in a row from his second hole.

It seemed like his confidence had returned and it was like watching the old Max Homa.

He addressed the media after his opening round at the John Deere Classic. He opened up on what has been holding him back this season, and how that completely changed on Thursday.

Homa said: “Yeah, I just did everything really solid. I made a ton of putts. Kept the driver in good spots. Got to take advantage of my iron play, my wedge play. So just always for me this season started from the tee, and it was plenty good enough today. The rest of my game I think I got to show how it’s felt the last few months without any good results. Always feels good to get off to a good start when you’re struggling, that’s for sure.“

Then the 34-year-old opened up on how he found something during range session on Wednesday before the tournament began.

He said: “Just my sequencing has been off. Found something to hopefully slow down my legs.

“Yeah, it’s always just been off all season. Hopefully this little change is going to kind of continue to work. But didn’t find it until late yesterday afternoon, so I’m in the early days of it. I think I’m in the honeymoon phase for a little while.“

Max Homa’s season stats vs 1st round of the John Deere Classic

Homa looked the part at TPC Deere Run on day one.

Here is how his numbers from the first round of the John Deere Classic looked in comparison to his season averages:

The improvements from Homa on day one in Silvis, Illinois, in all four categories were clear and obvious to see with the naked eye.

However, the really encouraging thing for him will be that the stats backed that up as well.

Homa needs a good week at the John Deere Classic desperately, and there were some hugely positive signs for him on day one.