Cal Sports Report

Max Homa's Sizzling 62 Lifts Him to the Top at the BMW and the FedEx Cup Standings

The 32-year-old Cal grad made 10 birdies for his career-best round as a professional.

Jeff Faraudo

Suddenly, Max Homa is the hottest golfer on the planet.

The 32-year-old Cal grad established a professional career-best score and a course record with an 8-under par round of 62 that included 10 birdies, lifting him into a two-stroke lead after two rounds of the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois.

Beyond that, Homa’s spectacular Friday elevated him from No. 6 in the FedEx Cup standings to a projected rank of No. 1.

The top 30 golfers in those standings after this weekend qualify for the Tour Championship a week from now at Atlanta, the last of three legs in the FedEx Cup playoffs, where the winner will take home $18 million.

It’s a remarkable potential scenario for Homa, who six years won just $18,000 for the entire season and was nearly off the PGA tour.

Homa is at 10 under through two days, giving him a two-stroke edge over Chris Kirk, who shot a bogey-free 66 on Friday. Matt Fitzpatrick and Brian Harman are at 7 under, and five players, including Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, are at minus-5.

“That was fun,” Homa told the Golf Channel after his round. “It’s pretty cool — it’s rare you just get to point and shoot. But that’s what it felt like. I felt like I was putting uphill a lot. I made a couple sidewinders, just kind of did everything.”

Meanwhile, Cal’s other two golfing alums, Collin Morikawa and Byeong Hun An, both sit at 3-under and tied for 13th place, seven strokes off the lead. Morikawa shot an even-par 70 in the second round and An carded a 67, fueled by birdies on Nos. 13, 15 and 17.

Here is Homa's birdie putt on No. 13:

Homa, who was tied for 12th place after shooting a 68 in the opening round, eclipsed his previous best PGA tour round of 63 that he recorded on Jan. 7 of this year in the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii.

While at Cal, Homa shot a 61 to set a course record at the Los Angeles Country Club during the 2013 Pac-12 tournament.

His birdie putt on No. 14: 

He fashioned a 32 over the front nine on Friday, with birdies on 1, 4, 5 and 7 before a bogey on No. 8. The former NCAA champion was even better on the back nine, posting birdies on 10, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 16 — giving him nine birdies over his first 15 holes.

Homa bogeyed the par-3 16th hole before responding with a 20-foot putt for his 10th birdie of the day on No. 17. A par on 18 closed out a back-nine score of 30, leaving him at 62 for the day - his best round in 174 career pro events spanning 10 seasons.

And birdie No. 10 on the 17th: 

Homa knows the tournament is far from over, but he likes where he’s at.

“It’s a hard golf course. I’ve done a great job of being in the fairway. When you get off of it, it become pretty penal,” he said. “It kicked my butt here whenever we were here a years ago.

“I know that 36 holes is a long way to go, but at the same time I’m going to enjoy what I did today. I’m going to take with me that I’m playing some pretty good golf. It’s fun to have that kind of confidence.”

Improved putting has been a huge lift for Homa, who made 135 feet of putts while missing just four fairways and two greens all day.

He credited work he’s done with putting coach Phil Kenyon.

“A lot of it has just been processed-based. All the cliches: Putting with intent, being OK to miss some and just kind of trusting your stroke at times,” Homa said.

“In the past I’d have a bad day putting and look at too much at my stroke. I kind of know now if I just keep doing what I’m doing some of them will go in. And if they don’t, we kind of go back to the drawing board.”

Morikawa, who also is trying to secure a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup roster that almost certainly includes Homa, began the day tied for ninth place at minus-3.

He started with bogeys on Nos. 3 and 4 but answered with birdies on 5 and 11 to go even for the day. The 26-year-old birdied No. 14 but closed out his day with a bogey on No. 18 to finish even at 70.

Morikawa’s projected FedEx Cup ranking is now 19th, which would easily advance him among the 30 golfers moving on to the Tour Championship.

An had a better round than Morikawa on Friday, assembling four birdies and just one bogey to finish at 67. But the 31-year-old South Korean will need a couple strong rounds on the weekend to lift him from his current projected FedEx Cup ranking of No. 35.

Cover photo of Max Homa by Jamie Sabau, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

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Jeff Faraudo
JEFF FARAUDO

Jeff Faraudo was a sports writer for Bay Area daily newspapers since he was 17 years old, and was the Oakland Tribune's Cal beat writer for 24 years. He covered eight Final Fours, four NBA Finals and four Summer Olympics. 

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