Max Homa stakes his claim for glory at the Masters
TO THE MAX: Max Homa greets the patrons on the seventh hole during second round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club Friday, April 12, 2024, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
While Thursday leaders Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler battled to hang onto their positions in the most trying conditions you’ll ever see at Augusta National, a new name cast himself into the fray at the 88th Masters – Max Homa.
Homa made one of the few moves in the morning to finish up at 5-under 67 and then added a 1-under 71 in the second round to put himself near the top of the leaderboard for the first time in five career starts at Augusta National. He’d only broken par twice previously in 12 previous rounds.
“I wrote something in my journal yesterday that said however good I am is however good I am,” Homa said.
“I don't need to try to be better than I am, and just see where that takes me. Maybe it's winning this and maybe it's not, and I'm okay with that. I know what I put into this game, trying to get every ounce back doesn't really work, and I've tried that part.”
Homa, ranked No. 11 in the world, only has one career top-10 finish in 17 majors starts – a T10 at the 150th Open at St. Andrews. He played the first two rounds with Tiger Woods and outplayed the five-time Masters winner.
“He’s got all the talent in the world,” said Woods of Homa.
“I got a chance to play with him at the Open Championship at St Andrews, and his ball flight, as solid as he hits it, it’s just a matter of time before he starts winning in bunches.
“I saw it up front – he doesn’t really mis-hit shots. That’s something you just have to do around this golf course.”
Homa will likely have to chase down two major champions, but he’s just appreciative of the opportunity.
“It will probably feel different, but I'm very fortunate,” he said of his position.
“I have a wife that does not let me gloat, and I have friends back at the house that will just want to hear about what Tiger did today. So I'm surrounded by some awesome people. I will appreciate this opportunity and all these cool things that I got to do.”
Rory McIlroy played the first nine of his second round in 38 and was 2-over par through 27 holes. The cut is projected to need 4-over par to play the weekend.
Europe’s young Ryder Cup stars Nicolai Højgaard and Ludvig Åberg continue stellar debuts, each putting themselves into the mix to become the first Masters rookies to win since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.
Højgaard safely closed out a first-round 65 in the morning and then climbed as high as 6-under and a brief share of the lead before a bogey-bogey finish left him 4-under overall and tied fourth with 2016 Masters winner Danny Willett behind the trio of leaders.
“It feels good,” Højgaard said.
“I’m enjoying the challenge. It’s tricky at the moment. Kind of disappointed a little bit with how things ended up from two decent positions – 17, 18 – to then end up making a couple 5s. There’s a lot to look forward to on the weekend.”
Åberg, in his first career major championship start, was 2-over par before birdies at 8, 9, 12, 13 and 16 launched him onto the leaderboard. He dropped a shot at 18 to sit 2-under through 36 holes.
“It was not easy, but I felt like I played pretty good,” said Åberg.
“I especially read the greens very well and hit the putts the way I wanted to. I think to get a score in today, I felt like that’s probably what you almost have to do, I think.”
Åberg won’t try to do anything different on the weekend: “Just keep the ball in front of me, I think. Try to be in the now as much as I can, try not to get too ahead of myself. All I’m trying to do is really enjoy it. It’s my first time here at Augusta National. It’s a privilege to be here and play this event, and that’s what I’m trying to do for the rest of the week.”
Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa (70) and Cameron Davis (72) shared the clubhouse podium at 3-under par through two completed rounds.
“It’s been a long 36 holes but a good one,” said Morikawa. “Look, this is exactly where I’d want to be.”
Enduring a long 23-hole day, Tiger Woods rode a volatile second round that ended where it started at level 72 to sit 1-over for two days work and into the Masters weekend for the 24th consecutive time. He now holds the cut streak record alone, leaving behind Freddie Couples and Gary Player at 23.
“I’m here. I have a chance to win the golf tournament,” Woods said.
“I don’t know if they’re all going to finish today, but I’m done. I got my two rounds in. Just need some food and some caffeine, and I’ll be good to go.”
Woods went six holes from No. 3 to 8 making three birdies and three bogeys. He then bogeyed 14 and birdied 15 after a huge second shot safely onto the par-5 green. With the winds blowing an absolute hoolie, Woods got up and down for par on 18, draining a 5-footer as the wind was whipping sand out of the bunkers.
“I was forced to get up-and-down a few times today, and I was able to do that,” he said of his scrambling in the taxing conditions.
“A lot of those chip shots I was able to get up-and-down because I left it in the perfect spot, and that’s understanding how to play this golf course. Probably the only exception was the spot I put myself in on 14. Most of the up-and-downs I was in a perfect spot.”
Neal Shipley, the U.S. Amateur runner-up, was the only one of the five amateurs to make the cut and thus guarantee himself the silver medal for low amateur.
The college graduate student finishing up a masters degree in analytics at Jack Nicklaus’ alma mater Ohio State was on the leaderboard at 3-under early Friday before a back-nine 40 left in 3-over for the tournament and tied with Ireland’s Shane Lowry on the safe side of the cut line.
“I was certainly thinking about low am,” he said.
“I thought I had a chance to compete with all those guys. I thought I showed that yesterday. In those really tough conditions, to shoot 1-under, that I belong out here. It’s just kind of a matter of proving that.”
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