Homa’s Wild Ride Highlights Sawgrass’s Unpredictable Nature
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Max Homa’s opening round at The Players Championship was a perfect illustration of the Stadium Course’s split personality. His day started brilliantly when a gap wedge from 137 yards spun back into the hole for eagle, followed immediately by a birdie.
Four holes later, he was 2-over par.
Homa’s round was a statistical oddity — just one par in his first six holes and only two pars on the entire front nine. He later strung together four consecutive birdies, then finished with a bogey for a 1-under 71.
“One of the weirder days I’ve ever had,” Homa said.
The conditions didn’t help. Morning players battled wind gusts approaching 20 mph, followed by a brief downpour that forced a delay. But even on calm days, Pete Dye’s design presents a formidable challenge with its strategic water hazards and intimidating shots.
Homa wasn’t the only player on the roller coaster. Tony Finau experienced his own wild swings, putting together four consecutive birdies at one point, only to follow them with four straight bogeys. He eventually steadied himself for a 3-under 69.
“I was cruising early, and then just got punched in the mouth in the middle of the round with a bunch of bogeys, kind of jumped on the bogey train,” Finau said. “Really happy with the poise I had to just finish off where I started.”
Max Greyserman provided perhaps the day’s most dramatic swing. He surged into a share of the lead by making five birdies in his first seven holes, turning in 31. Then the back nine happened.
Greyserman made three consecutive bogeys starting at the 10th, then dunked one in the water on the par-3 13th for double bogey. Just like that, he was back to even par. He ultimately signed for a 73 — not terrible considering five morning players failed to break 80, but certainly disappointing after such a hot start.
For Homa, the mental challenge was significant. His undoing included a double bogey on the 12th after finding the right trees and another double on 15 when he missed a 3-foot putt.
“You really have to have conversations with yourself that you’ve got to start over,” Homa said. “Pretty upset, and you’ve just got to remind yourself that it wasn’t that far off. This is a very hard golf course, so it’s nice to make some good swings and make some good putts to get going in the other direction, but that morning was very tricky.”
Tommy Fleetwood also posted a 69 that left him contemplating what might have been. His round featured a spectacular stretch where he:
- Blistered a 9-wood from an upslope to 30 feet for eagle on the par-5 16th
- Holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the island-green 17th
- Hit his approach from 187 yards to 10 feet for birdie on the 18th
He added another birdie at the par-5 second to briefly share the lead.
“A complete bonus of a stretch, but it was really good golf through that point,” Fleetwood said.
And then?
“A bit rubbish,” he admitted, referring to three bogeys in a four-hole stretch toward the end.
Such is Sawgrass.
