No panic, just patience: Max Homa keeps cool in pursuit of first win since 2023

The last three seasons haven’t quite gone Max Homa's way. But even as the results have become harder to come by, the six-time PGA Tour winner isn’t about to panic.

The Cal product hasn’t won on Tour since the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open and has recorded just seven top-10 finishes since the start of the 2024 season. After establishing himself as one of the game’s most consistent performers earlier this decade, Homa has spent much of the last three years searching for the form that once made him a fixture near the top of leaderboards.

Through two rounds at the Baycurrent Classic in Japan, however, Homa is showing signs of the confidence that carried him to a career-high No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking in 2023. At 9 under, he enters the weekend just two shots behind co-leaders Jacob Bridgeman and Keith Mitchell, putting himself in position to end his nearly three-year winless stretch.

But to stay in contention Friday, Homa had to stay patient and trust his game.

After opening with a relatively stress-free 6-under 65 on Thursday, Homa followed with a 68 in the second round. Starting on the 10th tee at Yokohama Country Club, he played his first four holes in even par before reaching the par-4 14th, where his round nearly unraveled.

Homa pushed his drive right into the rough between two bunkers before blocking his second shot farther right and into the trees. Forced to take a penalty drop, he eventually walked away with a double bogey, turning what had been a steady round into a test of his composure.

For a player who has spent the past three seasons trying to rediscover his best golf, the setback could have led to further frustration. Instead, Homa stayed level and refused to let one bad hole dictate the rest of his day.

“I just liked that I hung in there. I didn't panic. I had a really weird 40 minutes out there around 14, but just happy I didn't try to reinvent the wheel or anything,” Homa said. “I don't know, just toughed it out, so that was good.”

His response started on the very next hole. Homa made a crucial par on the 15th, then added three more pars to make the turn at 2-over 37. He had steadied himself after the double bogey, but his best golf was still to come.

After a par at the first, Homa caught fire, stringing together five consecutive birdies on Nos. 2-6. He played his final nine holes in 5-under 31 to post a 3-under 68 and move to 9 under for the tournament.

Yet the birdie run wasn't what stood out most to Homa. Instead, he pointed to the par on No. 15, when he still felt the effects of the trouble that had unfolded one hole earlier.

“The par I made on 15 was great. I was a little bit rattled coming off 14,” Homa said. “I hit a horrible tee shot on a pretty easy hole, hit what I thought was a great second shot, got the flyer wrong and just again didn't panic, hit a good chip up there, made a 10-, 12-footer. Just little things like that, that one stuck out.”

For Homa, that ability to stay patient could be just as important as the birdies themselves. While his recent results may have fallen short of the standard he established earlier in his career, Friday offered a reminder that he doesn't need to overhaul his game every time adversity strikes. Sometimes, the key is simply trusting the process and letting the results follow.