Max Homa is still getting used to his celebrity status out on the PGA Tour.
The four-time Tour winner shared a story Wednesday about how he once got asked to take a photo inside a portable restroom at a friend’s wedding. “Definitely the weirdest place,” he said. The requests continued Tuesday night at Comerica Park, where Homa watched the Padres visit the Tigers while also obliging to more photos with his fans.
“It’s just one of those things that just still I don’t think it will ever not feel bizarre because I don’t feel like people should be taking pictures with me,” Homa said. “I don’t know. It’s not something you picture when you’re putting on your home putting green when you’re a kid to win the Masters; you don’t think you’re going to be taking pictures at a Detroit Tigers game with a bunch of strangers, but it is what it is.”
With the way Homa, already a popular social-media figure, has been playing in recent years, his newfound fame shouldn’t come as much surprise. He’s ranked 20th in the world rankings, has won twice this season alone and at ninth in the U.S. Presidents Cup standings is a solid bet to make the American team, whether automatically or via captain’s pick.
Homa notes that he’s also never made it to East Lake, though at No. 11 in the FedExCup standings and with just four events (two of the playoff variety) left before the Tour Championship, that’s likely to change this year.
Making that top 30 is among many players’ top goals each season, as it comes with spots in all four majors. Safely inside the top 50 in the OWGR, though, Homa has a bigger goal still left to accomplish this season – and it’s one that has made him add this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic to his schedule after originally not planning to play any of the three final tournaments of the regular season.
“Seeing where I was standing on the list, decided to add it to make a little push to hopefully sneak inside that top 10 for the Comcast [Business Tour Top 10] to get a bit of a boost going into the playoffs to kind of chase down Scottie [Scheffler] and Cam [Smith],” Homa explained. “So, felt like a really good fit to come back to a course I know and like to maybe grab a little momentum before a week off before Memphis. I felt like three weeks off at home, it’s a billion degrees in Arizona, it would be better to practice on a great golf course and get ready to try to peak at the right time at the end of the season.”
Finishing 10th in the FedExCup after next week’s Wyndham Championship nets a cool $1 million in bonus money. No. 1, meanwhile, gets $4 million out of the $20 million pool. That’s not even counting the lucrative payouts players will received for making it to East Lake, where the FedExCup champ will take home $18 million.
Full-field tee times from Rocket Mortgage Classic
Homa currently has 1,592 FedExCup points, just four shy of No. 10 Matt Fitzpatrick, who is not in the field this week. Only No. 9 Will Zalatoris (1,600) and No. 6 Patrick Cantlay (1,900) are inside the top 10 and competing in Detroit. Behind Homa, No. 12 Cameron Young (1,565) and No. 17 Tony Finau (1,412) will also play this week.
Usually, few top-10 players in points tee it up at the regular-season final in Greensboro, North Carolina, in order to rest for the playoffs. And so far, none are committed, though the deadline to do so is Friday at 5 p.m. ET.
All that said, Homa could have some serious extra funds in his bank account by the end of August – oh, and likely several more photo requests, too.
