Max Homa feels like he’s found a way to prepare for major championships that now works better for him.
How did he stumble upon the solution?
“Error and error, pretty much,” he said Tuesday at Valhalla, site of the PGA Championship.
Homa was not pleased with his major championship success and had missed eight cuts in the game’s biggest events. Then, last summer he opted to play in the Scottish Open the week before The Open Championship. He produced his first top-10 finish in a major that week at Royal Liverpool.
The 33-year-old has previously enjoyed beating balls at home the week before a major, trying to perfect his swing, then attempt to bring that same swing the following week. But he found that playing in a tournament, even if he happens not to play well, allows him to work on shots that he may need the next week, or figure out what his particular miss is at the time.
So he played the Valero Texas Open earlier this year, the week before the Masters. He tied for 25th in Texas but rebounded with a third-place tie at Augusta National, his best finish at a major.
“It's only one, one very, very, very small sample size, but it sure worked at Augusta,” Homa said. “I hadn't played worth a damn there and went out there and actually played some real golf. So I just think that for – everyone's different – but for me what I was doing at home was good for long-term success, not so good for the following week.”
Homa has spent plenty of time roaming around the internet, watching videos of past championships at Valhalla. He doesn’t feel like he’s necessarily learned much about the golf course but is a golf history junkie and loves watching as much as he can.
“Not picking up a ton, but it’s one of those where it did feel like watching – if you were in the fairway, you could make a lot of birdies,” he said. “When you were out of position it was going to be quite a struggle. Like I said, that seems like what the PGA model has gone to, which is good. You kind of have a plan going into the week even before you get here.”
