Max Homa is a die-hard Dodgers fan. Saturday, he got shut out.
Homa failed to make a birdie in the third round of the 88th Masters Tournament. But, he only dropped one shot. Homa’s 17 pars and lone bogey at the par-3 12th kept him in contention to win his first major championship.
Homa (73) is at 5 under par through 54 holes at Augusta National, two shots back of leader Scottie Scheffler.
“Very glad I got through it today. It was very tough. I left the gym, and all of a sudden the nerves hit,” said Homa, whose last birdie came on the fourth hole in Round 2.
It’s been quite the week for Homa, a six-time PGA Tour winner. He was grouped with his childhood hero, Tiger Woods, in the first two rounds – just as he was a couple of years ago at the St. Andrews Open.
But unlike that week in Scotland, where Homa missed the cut, he played his way into Saturday’s final group at Augusta.
Homa was part of a three-way tie for the 36-hole lead, alongside Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau. While the latter two endured a couple of topsy-turvy rounds, Homa’s was flatlined.
At least on the scorecard. What was going on inside, however, was quite the opposite.
“Just because I was nervous didn’t mean I couldn’t do anything. I had an impossibly hard chip on [No.] 1 and got up and down,” Homa said.
“I think that’s the thing, is I was really nervous on [No.] 18 and put it right in the middle [of the hole on his par putt]. I don’t know, just because you’re nervous and uncomfortable doesn’t mean you’re not going to succeed. I feel like I showed myself that. Even if I am nervous tomorrow, just embrace it a little bit.”
That’s the attitude he’s carried with him this week: focus on the positives. When negative thoughts come to mind, “dream about what could go right.”
Homa said if you had told him ahead of his third round that he’d have no birdies, he’d have assumed the worst. But on Saturday, he just went “with the flow,” and that carried him into the penultimate group on Sunday.
Now, he’s armed with the experience of handling a difficult situation on the weekend at Augusta National. He’ll use that to his advantage tomorrow.
“Yeah, I came here with the gratitude and appreciation that I get to do it,” he said. “I’m happy I get to do it tomorrow. I’m going to remind myself I’m a dog and I’m ready for this moment.”
