Max Homa fired a 5-under 66 Friday at the Bank of Utah Championship, putting him in position for his first PGA Tour victory since the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open.
He’s also barely able to walk.
Homa needed in-round treatment on his right ankle during Friday’s round, dealing with what he described as a “pretty good-sized bone spur on the top.” It’s an issue that has only flared up occasionally this year, but the Utah course’s terrain proved particularly challenging.
“I’ve had it for a little while,” Homa said. “I had planned on getting it taken out when we have a little bit of time off, so it was just kind of ironic. It almost never gets inflamed, but I think this place is pretty hard to walk.”
The pain first struck while walking down the 12th fairway, his third hole of the day. By the time he finished the hole with par, his ankle was swollen and “very, very tender.”
What makes this remarkable is that despite the injury, Homa delivered a bogey-free round with five birdies. He’ll enter the weekend at 6 under, four shots behind leader Michael Brennan.
“Walking uphill is really hard because I can’t flex it, so that sucked,” Homa said. “But in some way like, I mean, yesterday I played so well, and I just get in my own way so much. It honestly helps to get hurt at times because I don’t remember thinking about my golf swing, I don’t remember thinking about really anything much. Just get it through. Get it to the house.”
The injury might have actually simplified his mental approach. “If I hit a bad shot, but it was in play, I was happy with it,” he added. “Over the ball it’s fine. Through the hit is not great, but it’s manageable.”
Homa found perspective through family. “I kept thinking about my wife had a horrendous birth with our first son, and she had major, major surgery, and there is just no way I could complain about a hurt ankle while I walked. She gets me through a lot. She couldn’t look at me the same.”
Currently sitting at No. 100 in FedExCup points, Homa confirmed this will be his final start of the fall. He’s already exempt for next season thanks to his multiple-win exemption, which partly explains his determination to continue playing despite the injury.
“I mean, for a moment,” Homa said when asked if he considered withdrawing. “Only just because if it doesn’t get better, I just couldn’t see myself doing this for two more days. But, yeah, probably not. I just can’t. I don’t want to do that. I love being here. I really like how my golf game feels. It’s my last event of the year and it’s just annoying to walk, so I can deal with that.”
