The reason why Max Homa failed to win the John Deere Classic is already clear following his final round

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It wasn’t to be for Max Homa at the John Deere Classic as he failed to capitalise on three excellent opening rounds to finish in T5.

Brian Campbell was the eventual winner at the John Deere as he held off Emiliano Grillo in a playoff after initially qualifying in bizarre circumstances after a free drop on 18 in his normal round.

As for Homa, it was a welcome return to form for the American but ultimately another week without a win.

Still, it was Homa’s best result since the 2024 Masters and on another day, he might well have won out.

In the end, there was one key reason for Homa not getting further up the leaderboard and even involved in any playoff.

And that reason? Putting.

Max Homa’s putting costs him during final round of the John Deere Classic

Every golfer knows that gaining strokes on the greens can be the difference between winning and losing.

With Max Homa, that very much proved to be the case at the John Deere as the flat stick deserted him at the time he needed it the most.

Homa did make some putts early on but then went on to miss a number of crucial putts from within 15 and 12 feet to ensure he never quite challenged the very summit.

Indeed, for his final round, Homa’s strokes gained putting was at -1.776, putting him 52nd in the field and among the worst for the day.

For context, his overall SG in putting was up at 0.546 for the entire week, putting him much higher up.

But when it was needed the most, it went missing and ultimately, cost Homa a chance at the win.

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Max Homa will take big belief despite not winning

While the win would have been nice for Max Homa and he is desperate to get back involved in the winner’s circle, this was still a good week for him.

A T5 finish is not to be sniffed at and overall, it was a week of good golf from Homa as he showed what he can do when he’s playing well.

The next step is, of course, for him to convert this better form into a win.

Doing that is easier said than done but given he seems to have found something in his game over the weekend, it does feel like this is a big step for Homa.

All eyes will be on his next outing now and seeing whether or not he can indeed follow up.