Max Homa is one of the most recognizable faces in the game of golf but, at The Players Championship on Saturday, the Ryder Cup star had a moment to forget as he made a quintuple bogey nine at TPC Sawgrass.
Beginning the day at one-under-par, it was unlikely that Homa was going to win the event, but a good run would hand him a number of FedEx and World Ranking points. Certainly, through 13 holes, he was performing solidly, sitting at one-under for his round, that though, was all about to change at the difficult par 4 14th...
Max Homa makes a 9 at the players championship#golf #pgatour #players pic.twitter.com/dB0FYqQgSBMarch 16, 2024
Ranked as one of the hardest holes on the TPC Sawgrass layout, Homa pulled his tee shot left and into the water. Frustrated, his next tee shot was not going left and, after blocking it right, Homa was left with a difficult shot over the trees from 200 yards away.
Hitting a six-iron, his ball clattered a tree and vaulted left, eventually finishing in the fairway bunker, some 165 yards away. Now playing his fifth, Homa chunked his next, still remaining in the bunker, with his sixth getting out of sand but still short of the green.
Eventually, after playing a pitch shot to 11-feet, the 33-year-old two putted for a quintuple bogey nine, which dropped him from two-under to three-over-par. Following the nine, he went on to birdie the 16th and 17th, finally signing for a two-over-par round of 74, putting him in a tie for 68th.
It's not the first time we've had pros score high numbers. At last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, Tommy Fleetwood carded a 10 at the par 5 sixth. Not to be outdone, Jake Knapp produced a 12 at the very same hole 24 hours later, with two water balls being followed by a tee shot that finished out of bounds.
