An under-fire United States star has revealed that he’s split from his swing coach as the Presidents Cup gets underway at Royal Montreal Golf Club.
Jim Furyk’s 12-man USA side are looking to make it ten consecutive victories in Quebec and continue what has been an utterly dominant record in the competition.
However, Furyk’s selection of Max Homa has been criticised after the six-time PGA Tour winner missed the cut at the Procore Championship.
Homa has been struggling with his driver during the second half of the season, and will have to improve on what is a narrow tree-lined test at Royal Montreal.
And the American has now confirmed that a significant change has been made ahead of the Presidents Cup starting.
Max Homa confirms split from coach ahead of Presidents Cup
Speaking to the media ahead of Thursday’s matches, Homa confirmed he was no longer working with his coach, Mark Blackburn.
“I’ve been solo,” Homa revealed. “Unfortunately, I’m not working with Mark anymore. So, for the three or four weeks at home, I made a bunch of setup changes and just got to work through that.”
The American continued: “Just like I said, time away, it’s tough when you have a week at home, and you know you have to get ready for a tournament because you can spend a day or two fiddling.
“Then you realise I need to make sure I find a golf shot that works and grind that in. So you have some time to mess with things, hit your stock golf shot until it feels good, and get going.
“I’ve just been able to go to it by myself. I have a buddy I’ve sent videos to, and we’ve chatted about my golf swing. Joe has taken a big role in checking ball positions and distance to the ball and things like that.”
When Max Homa split with coach as the Presidents Cup starts in Montreal
Homa went on to confirm he and Blackburn actually split after the first FedEx Cup playoff event at the St Jude Championship.
“After Memphis [we split]. It’s just a tough year. Time for a change,” Homa added. “It’s unfortunate, I love Mark. He’s basically a part of my family. He’s just been an amazing human being. And Pat has been a great coach and smart man.”
“But at times, the communication gets hard. I think everyone in here has gone through that at some point. It’s one of those things, more for me, I need a break, and sometimes I don’t do a great job of taking ownership of my own golf swing, so putting the ball in my court a bit, and you know, trying to figure it out myself.”
Homa added: “I mean, as much as a coach can be brilliant, a genius like Mark, I know my golf swing better than anybody, and I can see it and feel it. Just trying to take some ownership like that.”
Homa and Brian Harman are the two Americans sitting out Thursday’s opening fourball session after Furyk confirmed his first ten-man line-up.
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