Carrying his own bag, Max Homa fails in bid to qualify for U.S. Open
The thing about 'Golf's Longest Day' is that it can get even longer. Not only did Max Homa experience the annual agony of U.S. Open final qualifying Monday, but he added an extra hurdle to his day by carrying his clubs for 36 holes in regulation play and then for two more thanks to what would be an unsuccessful playoff.
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More than eight hours of walking did not earn Homa a spot in next week's U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club.
The seven-time PGA Tour winner found himself loading up a Cobra carry bag and hoofing it in a tournament for the first time in years. He has recently dropped out of the top 60 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and without an automatic berth into the major championship, Homa needed to earn one of the six spots up for grabs in the Columbus, Ohio, qualifier to play his way into the field. Ten separate 36-hole qualifiers were held around the country Monday, with hundreds of players vying for those coveted U.S. Open invitations. Forty-seven made it through, including amateurs, past PGA Tour winners, and a dentist and former Oakmont caddie, Matt Vogt.
It looked like Homa might have a chance to get through at the Columbus qualifier, held at Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club, after he posted an opening-round 3-under 69. He floated around the qualifying bubble for the rest of the day until his 36th hole, a reachable par-5, where he three-putted for par. A birdie would have been an automatic in.
Instead, Homa entered a sudden-death playoff with those at 5-under: Cameron Young, Rickie Fowler, Eric Cole and Chase Johnson. Young birdied the first playoff hole to snag the spot. Erik Van Rooyen, Bud Cauley, Lanton Griffin, Justin Lower and Harrison Ott also made it to Oakmont from the Columbus qualifying site.
But Homa was the only golfer on the course sans caddie. He carried his bag after recently splitting with his caddie, Bill Harke, per the Associated Press. Before working with Harke, Homa had his childhood best friend, Joe Greiner, caddie for him. Greiner recently walked away from the job after teaming up with Homa for nearly a decade.
'I might need to walk by myself more. Maybe I just looked at it as a nice, peaceful walk. Probably got to battle some demons and have no one to lean on. Maybe that helps a little bit. There's no one … everything is me. The battle helped that a little bit.' Homa told the AP on Monday.
Homa's game has been a matter of peaks and valleys since tying for third at the 2024 Masters. A gnarly concoction of equipment changes, swing remodeling and mental demons has contributed to the struggles. He performed well at the Masters again this season — a T12 finish — but has since failed to crack the top 30 in a PGA Tour event.
'To be completely honest — I don't know what I'm getting out of this,' Homa told The Athletic on the Sunday of the PGA Championship. 'But it's my job. So I'll keep trying and hopefully something great happens.'
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