Max Homa returns to South Africa for the Nedbank Golf Challenge and is in a familiar position.
After winning this tournament last year at Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, Houma topped the leaderboard after the first day. He shot a 6-under 66, a round that featured eight birdies, two bogeys and a ton of hole-in putts. Homa kept going and got off to a good start with birdies on the first three holes. He also made his presence known to the rest of the field with birdies on Nos. 6 and 9 for a 5-under 31.
But midway through his race, the wind completely changed direction and, as he explained, “completely went right through him.” Bogeys followed on the 13th and 15th holes, the latter when he and his caddy miscalculated yardage.
That followed a two-putt par on the par-3 16th, and then Houma couldn't have played better on the wacky 17th and 18th holes. He found the fairway on both tees, something he's struggled with throughout 2024, and hit the ball to within 11 feet both times. Then both putts sank into the bottom of the cup, giving him the sole lead by one shot over South Africa's Ockie Strydom.
“It feels really good because I haven’t played in a while and I’ve been working on a lot of new stuff, so it was cool to birdie the first three holes,” Homa said.
“The way I do it feels good and I feel really comfortable with most of the golf swing, so [this round] I'll definitely remember that, that's for sure. “
Homa has not competed since finishing tied for 27th at the Japan ZOZO Championship in late October. In the 10 starts before that, his best finish was a tie for 22nd at Memorial Stadium. He also missed two cutting opportunities during this period.
In 2024, the difficulty outweighs the success, as Homa has yet to win a professional fight since winning the event last year. That reality helps explain why Homa felt so happy when he walked off the golf course Thursday.
“The way I've been hitting the ball all season has been terrible and you come to a golf course like this and you can't fake it off the tee. You need to hit some good drives and the wind can make it uncomfortable for you, so You obviously want to come here and win, but I’m trying to get ready for next season and take advantage of some of the work I’ve done,” Homa said.
“So, it’s a big deal to see something that I can take home, so that alone makes me happy.”
Jack Milko is the golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Get more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jackmilko as well as.
