Following a solo second-place finish at the John Deere Classic, Max Homa skyrocketed to No. 73 in the Official World Golf Ranking. In doing so, he secured his place in the field for The 154th Open Championship.
While many of golf’s biggest names are spending this week at the Genesis Scottish Open in preparation for the season’s final major, Homa finds himself taking a different path to Royal Birkdale.
Max Homa at ISCO Championship
Rather than making a last-minute trip to North Berwick, Homa is instead competing at the ISCO Championship. Here, he currently sits T38 as the tournament heads into the weekend.
The six-time PGA Tour winner explained that he didn’t know he had qualified for The Open until June 6.
“Got a call Monday. We asked about it Sunday night. I think back in the day or at least how I remembered it at the Deere, the highest finisher not in got a spot. They don’t have that anymore, but I guess the World Ranking got me in or something like that,” he said Wednesday. “So I got a call Monday. I had a bit of a panic. We had obviously zero thought of going over there. I won’t see my family now for a few weeks but that was a bit of a scramble, but my wife’s a superstar and told me to head on over.”
Homa admitted that he would have preferred to compete at The Genesis Scottish Open had he known sooner. However, he felt as though he should he honor his commitment to the ISCO Championship.
“Full transparency, if I knew I was in the Open, I would have played in Scotland,” Homa said. “I did feel a bit of an obligation in a good way to play this. As everyone knows, that is an opposite-field event. They don’t get as much I guess notoriety, but this one, especially being co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, it’s got a pretty awesome field.”
He continued:
“I don’t know, I would be kicking myself if I left an event high and dry. Not that I think I’m the, you know, hottest thing in town or anything, but I got to speak with a bunch of the people who put this event on and I’ve been reached out to by a lot of people who are very excited I was coming, so it would have felt not so good skipping.”
Drama Unfolds at the Genesis Scottish Open
Meanwhile, the Genesis Scottish Open is in full swing as of Friday July 10, and already producing plenty of storylines.
The leaderboard features several big names, including Tom Kim, Rory McIlroy, Min Woo Lee, Chris Gotterup, and Matt Fitzpatrick. With names like these packed near the top, anything can happen as the tournament heads into weekend play.
One of the biggest surprises came when World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler missed the cut. It marked the first time he has failed to advance to weekend play in 78 consecutive PGA Tour starts. The last cut he missed was the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship, 1,428 days ago.
With unexpected twists already in play, anything can happen next week at the final major championship of the year. While most contenders are preparing at North Berwick, the possibility remains that the Max Homa Method could be what is needed to secure a win at The 154th Open.
Max Homa’s Preparation for The Open Looks a Little Different This Year