Cal Sports Report

Drunken Fan and Triple Bogey Strip Lead From Max Homa at BMW Championship

The former Cal star remains just 2 strokes off the lead entering Sunday's final round.

Jeff Faraudo

One day after shooting a course-record 62 at Olympia Fields, Max Homa exchanged words with what he surmised was a drunken fan, who yelled out just as he was ready to make a putt.

But that wasn’t the worst part of Homa’s Saturday at the BMW Championship.

The 32-year-old Cal grad made two early birdies to improve his lead in the second of three tournaments in the FedEx Cup playoffs. Then he made a triple-bogey 7 on the seventh hole on the way to a 1-over 71 that dropped him to fourth place.

His two-stroke lead through two rounds was gone after the triple bogey.

Still, Homa is just two strokes behind co-leaders Matt Fitzpatrick and Scottie Scheffler, and one back of third-place Brian Harman entering Sunday’s final round.

The top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings after play in the BMW is complete qualify for the Tour Championship next week in Atlanta, where the winner will be awarded $18 million.

Scheffler is now the projected points leader as Homa dropped from first to sixth, which is where he resided when the week began. Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Lucas Glover and Fitzpatrick are projected to rank second through fifth.

Cal’s two other entries at the BMW event — Collin Morikawa and Byeong Hun An — enter the final round tied for 26th place after each shooting 2-over 72 on Saturday. They are at minus-1 — 10 strokes back of the leaders.

Morikawa, without a PGA tour victory for more than two years, is in solid shape to advance, currently projected to be No. 25 in the standings. But An projects at No. 38 and will need a big performance on Sunday in order to move on.

The day after his best-ever round as a professional, when he made 10 birdies, Homa struggled with the winds at Olympic Fields.

Max Homa gestures to the ball after making a putt
Max Homa gestures to the ball after making a putt / Photo by Jamie Sabau, USA Today

He needed two chips from right of the green to get to within 15 feet and three-putted, including a miss from 2 feet — to wind up with a triple bogey.

He missed two more par putts from inside 10 feet on the back nine, but converted a 7-foot par putt on the 18th to close at 71.

"It was definitely uncomfortable putting in that wind," Homa said. "I had a long one on 18 and you're judging a big slope and it's going to start running downwind and downhill. So it made it uncomfortable, but that's why this golf course is so good."

He had less patience for a fan who was yelling — presumably over a bet — that was disruptive to him and Chris Kirk on the 17th hole.

"There was a probably drunk — I hope, for his case, or else he's just he biggest loser there is — but he was cheering and yelling at Chris for missing his putt short," Homa said. "And he kept yelling — one of them had $3 for me to make mine — and I got to the back of my back stroke and he yelled, 'Pull it!' pretty loud.

"I made it right in the middle, and then I just started yelling at him.”

Side bets made by spectators have long been a part of golf, but now the sport allows for live betting and some have worried that could lead to disruptive behavior.

"I love that people can gamble on golf, but that is the one thing I'm worried about," Homa said. "I don't know what he had to lose. He got kicked out probably, and we were the last group.”

He said he called the fan a clown with "maybe another word," and that caddie Joe Greiner may have gone further still.

"It's just always something that's on your mind," Homa said of fans making noise. "It's on us to stay focused or whatever, but it's just annoying when it happens. ... Fans are so great about being quiet when we play. I think they are awesome. When anybody ever talks, it's so unintentional.

"It just sucks when it's incredibly intentional, and his friend specifically said it was for $3. Not that money matters, but that's a frustrating number.”

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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