The second half of Max Homa's 2024 season hasn't gone the way the American expected, but he now finds he has the chance to change all that with just one performance in South Africa. Homa, the defending champion of the DP World Tour's 2024 Lilly Bank Golf Challenge, finished ahead of Ockie Strydom with a 6-under 66 in the first round. Reach the top of the leaderboard.
βItβs always nice to come back to a place where you have great memories,β Homa said at the start of the week. “It's not very close to home, but it feels a little like a home away from home this week. Last year was really fun and I had a great week so far and I'm happy to be here. I've done this for the last three months There are a lot of changes happening left and right, so it's good to go into golf tournaments and test them out, I feel like I know what I'm doing, I just need to get some pressure on and see how it feels and go from there.”
The 34-year-old Homa's defensive start couldn't have been better, with birdies on the opening three holes. Houma added one more on the par-4 sixth and two-putted on the par-5 ninth before turning the corner for his fifth birdie on the outside half. , thereby seizing the lead before turning.
Rough waters rocked the middle section of his back nine as missing fairways – a problem for Houma in 2024 – led to bogeys on Nos. 13 and 15. When approaching difficult pars with precision, these errors are eliminated almost immediately. Birdie calls were set up from 11 feet on the par-4 17th and the par-4 18th, and Homa eventually converted.
“Everything about the culture, and coming here…we're lucky enough to be able to travel for work,” Homa said. “For me, having the opportunity to travel around the world and experience new things is a real treat… You need to be on the fairway, and if you're on the fairway, you can score. The greens are in really good shape, so people are It's really a game of hitting the tee shots and trying to make as many birdies as you can, you always want to win, so I'd love to win.”
While Homa hasn't finished in the top 20 since the Wells Fargo Championship in May, work on his swing has started to materialize. After a strong effort on the U.S. Presidents Cup-winning team, Homa continues to keep things moving in the right direction at the Zozo Championship.
In Japan, an opening 73 dashed title hopes, but scores of 66-67-66 in the final rounds rekindled confidence. The situation has carried over to South Africa and if it continues over the next three days, Homa may well find himself being taken off the 18th green on Sunday as he did last year.