Max Homa Takes Early Lead at Nedbank Golf Challenge

Max Homa’s hot start has him leading in South Africa as he tries to defend his Nedbank Golf Challenge title.

The American fired a 6-under 66 on Thursday, including clutch birdies on his final two holes to grab a one-shot edge over local favorite Ockie Strydom.

Homa came out blazing, with three straight birdies to start his round. He added two more on the front nine before hitting a couple of rough patches after the turn.

“It felt really good because I haven’t played a tournament in a while,” Homa said. “I’ve been working on some new stuff, so to birdie the first three holes was cool.”

The defending champ hasn’t played much lately. He’s made just two tour-level starts since missing out on the Tour Championship back in August.

Strydom kept things interesting with a solid 67 that included four birdies and an eagle, with just one bogey on the card.

A pack of four players sits two shots further back at 3-under, including Pablo Larrazábal, Andy Sullivan, Matthew Jordan and Thorbjorn Olesen.

The swirling winds made things tricky for everyone.

“The wind did a complete flip on seven, so it threw us through a bit of a loop,” Homa explained. “But I thought I did a really good job adjusting to it.”

If Homa can hold on, he’d be the first American to successfully defend this title since Jim Furyk pulled it off in 2006. Only seven players have ever managed back-to-back wins in the tournament’s history.

The rest of the field struggled a bit. Will Zalatoris stumbled to a 74 after a double bogey on the 13th, while fellow American Corey Conners opened with a 72.