Playing in the second men’s major, the PGA Championship, is almost like a dream come true for almost every golfer. But for Max Homa, who is giving a series of moderate performances this season, it has become a reality. Looking at Homa’s records, with five back-to-back missed cuts, fans cannot help but pose the million-dollar question: How does Max Homa get to play at the PGA Championship? Well, the answer certainly does not lie in his performance this season or the last one.
In 2024, Max Homa achieved 6 top-20 finishes, including a T3 finish at the Masters. Overall, he made the cut in three of the four majors during the 2024 season. Fans expected the 2025 season to be even better, but that didn’t happen. In fact, it got worse. Beyond the five consecutive missed cuts, Max Homa’s moderate performances began with a T26 finish at The Sentry and continued at the RBC Heritage, where he finished at 70. His best result? A T12 finish at the Masters. Despite that, he will be at Quail Hollow with an elite roster.
For context, there are many ways to grab a spot at the PGA Championship, including winning one of the four majors. Sadly, Max Homa has never won a major, so that option is out of the question. Following these exemptions, several other eligibility criteria, such as finishing in the Top 15 and ties from the 2024 US PGA Championship, or finishing in the Top 70 in US PGA Championship points through THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, allow for player exemptions. However, Homa qualified with none of these criteria.
Fans will see Max Homa playing at the PGA Championship thanks to the following criterion: Ryder Cup players from 2023 who are still in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking. Currently ranked 75th in the OWGR, Homa was perhaps the lone bright star for the losing U.S. team at the 2023 Ryder Cup. In his first Ryder Cup appearance, he stood out as the only American to play all five matches and improved his record to 7-1-1 in his career in Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup matches.
One of the other exemptions is for PGA TOUR winners from the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge through the 2025 Truist Championship and the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic. However, for Max Homa, qualifying for the PGA Championship cannot be a facade for his overarching performance struggle.
The weight of poor performance sits heavy on Max Homa
“It’s hard to care this much about something and just not get anything out of it.. It’s like you’re in a very toxic relationship. I might be the toxic one, but it’s still toxic,” said Max Homa on Friday at TPC Sawgrass. But the golfer, who feels “I work hard, man, so I am waiting for that hard work to pay off” took the challenge and made several changes heading into the 2025 season.
Earlier this year, Homa made a big change in his golf gear by leaving Titleist after ten years and switching to Cobra. He also stopped working with his longtime coach, Mark Blackburn. As a result, he played without a coach and performed well at the Presidents Cup. However, after that, Homa realized he needed help. By October of last year, he began working with John Scott Rattan, who was highly recommended by other Tour players. But are the results showing? Not really.
Sure, Max Homa gave an amazing performance at the Masters with a finish of T12, but as we head into the second men’s major, several challenges remain. The demanding Quail Hollow requires solid driving accuracy, and that’s where Homa is currently struggling. Max Homa’s performance stats show that he has difficulties in his game, especially in strokes gained off the tee, where he is ranked 143rd with a score of -0.204. His total driving rank is 167th, with an average distance of 248 yards. For driving distance, he is 128th at 297.0 yards. His driving accuracy is 120th, with a success rate of 57.33%. Regardless of these stats, will he show improvement at the PGA Championship? Max Homa is hopeful, and so are we.
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