Thanks to Max Homa and CBS, golf fans were treated to a spectacular 15 minutes of television on Friday.
During the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in California, Homa agreed to let CBS mic him up on the par-5 13th hole. Homa, who was in fourth at the time at 7 under, spoke with CBS analysts Trevor Immelman, Ian Baker-Finch and Frank Nobilo about how to play the hole, with conversations ranging from course management to shot strategy and everything in between.
Homa put an AirPod in his left ear, and the announcers began talking to him as he walked toward his ball in the fairway. He talked about hitting his cut shot off the tee and how the wind would carry it where it needed to go.
Mic'd up Max Homa ‼️🎤
"If I can hit this thing to 5 feet then I'm too good to be only 7 under." 😂 pic.twitter.com/5e8lZjYQRC
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) January 27, 2023
He was also asked about how to decide whether to go for the green in two or lay up and what would go into his decision.
Homa decided to go for it in two, and he pulled his ball left, saying he hit it off the toe. When he got up by the green, Homa called for a rules official when his ball became embedded and he got a free drop. His second shot landed above the front left bunker by the green.
“I’m sure this is just in a peach of a lie,” Homa joked when walking to the green. And one he got to his ball? “I’m not going to touch it.”
After dropping his ball to play his third shot, Homa continued his jokes.
“I’m exhausted,” he said standing on the side of the hill.
His third shot landed on the green, and he two-putted for par. Homa took the AirPod out of his ear before hitting his putts.
Homa is known for being one of the best follows on Twitter because of his sense of humor, but his personality was displayed plenty when being mic’d up. He was witty and engaging while not being afraid to open up on what he was thinking during the middle of the round. Homa finished at 7 under and T-4 after his third round.
Players have worn mics before, like in the different editions of The Match, but never in a competition setting like on the PGA Tour.
The Match prepped us for what this would be like, but it was even better than imagined. Kudos to Homa and the CBS crew for doing something new that was engaging for the television audience.
The best moments from @MaxHoma23 mic'd up during his third round @FarmersInsOpen 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/UcBWbtdyhO
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 27, 2023
After the round, Homa talked about how the experience went.
“I think it went well. There were a couple bumps, but overall I was pretty happy with it. I hope the fans at home liked it and I hope that we can do something like that, if not the same thing, going forward. That will be up to the people much smarter than me. I thought it was good. I thought it was good to have insight on the golf course. Obviously it’s going to take us as players being a lot more flexible, but this is an entertainment product and that means we should entertain.
“We’re entertainers and I’d like for the players to be flexible. If it makes you super uncomfortable, that’s all good, but it wasn’t so bad, that was the first rendition. Hopefully, like I said, people at home appreciated it and enjoyed it because I just think it’s a little different than in an interview. You’re learning about a hole, about not just the player but about the tournament and the golf course and what it takes to be playing, you know, high-level competitive golf.”
We tried something new today! Hope u guys enjoyed it. Just looking to add something to the viewing experience going forward. Appreciate the kind responses to it so far! https://t.co/1P8oV4ZkGh
— max homa (@maxhoma23) January 28, 2023
