Cal Golf: Max Homa Ties for Fifth at Tour Championship, Earns $2.75 Mil

Once nearly off the PGA Tour, the 31-year-old assembled his best season in 2022.

Just five years ago, Max Homa was essentially a non-entity on the PGA Tour. The Cal grad played 17 events in 2016-17, missed the cut 15 times and earned the grand total of $18,008. For the entire season.

Fast-forward to Sunday, when Homa finished in a tie for fifth at the Tour Championship, final leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs, which earned him a check for $2.75 million — by far the biggest of his career.

Considering that Homa and wife Lacey Croom are expecting their first child in November, the timing couldn’t be better. This pays for a lot of diapers.

It should be noted that $850,000 of the $2.75 mil is deferred money, added to Homa’s PGA tour pension plan. Even so, pretty good week's work. It boosts his season earnings to $8,039,842 and his career total to more than $15 million.

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Homa, 31, carded a 1-over 71 on Thursday before stringing together rounds of 66, 62 and 66 over the final three days to finish at 17 under and tied with Justin Thomas.

Tied for eighth place at minus-13 through three rounds, Homa made birdies on Nos. 3 and 5 and otherwise had pars through the 10th. A bogey on No. 11 turned out to be a mere blip as he scored birdies on 12, 16 and 18.

Help from the pin on No. 18

Flag caught it perfectly 😂 pic.twitter.com/SVxKIdtI6x

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 28, 2022

He wound up four strokes back of Rory McIlroy, who staged an impressive comeback Sunday, posting a 66 to rally from six strokes back of Scottie Scheffler to win with a final ledger of 21 under.

With his third FedEx Cup title, McIlroy takes home the biggest purse in golf history — $18 million.

Scheffler and Sungjae Im of South Korea tied for second place at minus-20, each pocketing $5.75 million. Xander Schauffele was fourth at minus 18, worth $4 million.

Fellow Cal alum Collin Morikawa, who played well all week at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, struggled a Sunday, shooting a 3-over 73 which pushed him from a tie for 14th place through three rounds to a three-way share of 21st place with Brian Harman and Billy Horschel.

Morikawa, 25, takes home $600,000 after posting five bogeys on Sunday.

McIlroy had a magical week after beginning the tournament at 4 under — six strokes behind Scheffler, based on the FedEx Cup standings through the first two weeks.

But he hit his first ball into the water on Thursday and quickly he was 10 strokes back of Scheffler.

Both players had to finish their third rounds on Sunday morning after play was halted the day before because of a lightning storm. Homa also had to finish his third round on Sunday, while Morikawa finished all 18 holes Saturday before the stoppage.

Scheffler played his final six holes of the third round at 4 under, dropping him to minus-23. McIlroy completed a third-round 63, but still trailed by six strokes.

McIlroy made four birdies in a span of five holes on the front nine of the final round while Scheffler bogeyed three of his first six. McIlroy took the lead by holing a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fifth hole.

“I guess it just shows you anything's possible, even when you're a few behind or a few in front in the tournament," McIlroy said. "Anything can happen.”

Cover photo of Max Homa by Adam Hagy, USA Today

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