Ryan Lavner shares what Max Homa has done this season which you ‘never see’ from elite players

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Plenty of eyes will be on Max Homa this week at the Procore Championship following the 33-year-old’s contentious pick for the Presidents Cup team later this month.

Of those in Jim Furyk’s team for the Presidents Cup, no-one seems to be struggling with their game more than Max Homa right now, with Homa finishing last at the St Jude Championship before not even qualifying for The Tour Championship.

Nevertheless, Furyk has been prepared to take a chance on Homa – who has an outstanding record in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup. Some wondered whether Furyk would make it clear to Homa that he wanted him to play in the Procore Championship if he was going to get a pick.

Homa has won the event twice before, and will indeed be in Napa alongside the likes of Wyndham Clark and Sahith Theegala. The Internationals are represented at the Procore Championship by Corey Conners, Min Woo Lee and Mackenzie Hughes.

Max Homa under pressure at the Procore Championship

Homa arguably has the biggest point to prove in the coming days. And speaking on Golf Channel, Ryan Lavner outlined where he arguably needs to show the most improvement if he is going to play an important role in Canada.

“He was the most controversial pick for the US Presidents Cup team; seemed, if you listened to captain Jim Furyk, that Max was picked more for his passion and his past performance in these cup teams as opposed to his current form. And I think, of particular importance this week in Napa, is going to be Max Homa’s driving,” he said.

“He just finished the season on the PGA Tour in which he was ranked 154th for strokes gained off the tee, you never see an elite player with that sort of deficiency, particularly off the tee. He’s neither particularly long, nor particularly accurate. Silverado can be a golf course that places a premium on driving accuracy, as is Royal Montreal, the host site of the Presidents Cup, so that is something to pay attention to this week with Max Homa.”

Homa could be a surprise package at the Presidents Cup

What should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone is if Homa manages to throw the form book out of the window at Royal Montreal and produce a brilliant performance. He was a standout performer at Quail Hollow two years ago – winning all four of his matches.

And, while the 2023 Ryder Cup was a tough gig for the Americans, Homa stepped up by winning 3.5 points for the visitors in Rome. Rory McIlroy was the only player on either side to win more points than Homa that weekend.

He has struggled to kick on as the season has gone on, not registering a top 10 finish on the PGA Tour since May. But writing Homa off ahead of a matchplay event would surely be a huge error.