YOU can’t beat our friends from across the Atlantic for declarations of unbridled enthusiasm. When Max Homa made his debut in the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance last year, he thought the host venue was “awesome”.
The tournament itself was “a blast”, while a trip into Edinburgh for a nose around as a tourist was also “a blast”.
As for playing with Tiger Woods in the following week’s Open at St Andrews? Well, that was “wild”. VisitScotland will have him signed up as a brand ambassador by the time you get to the next sentence.
Homa, the world No.6, will be back in the cradle of the game in July for another crack at the Scottish Open after becoming the fourth player from the top 10 of the game’s global pecking order to commit to the domestic showpiece.
As most players will tell you, the quirks, intricacies, peculiarities and occasional absurdities of a links course are all part of the enduring pleasure of gowf by the seaside.
Homa certainly embraced its abundant charms and challenges. After two rounds of the Scottish Open last summer, Homa toddled off to nearby North Berwick to bolster his links education with a late-night hit about. It was an eye-opening experience and one that certainly stood him in good stead. The next day, he returned to The Renaissance and posted a nifty 66 in round three on his way to an eventual share of 16th.
“It [North Berwick] was on my bucket list for a long time,” reflected the Californian. “I’d always wanted to play it, so I had to make the most of it.”
Shoehorning in another 18 holes at the halfway point of a $9 million Rolex Series event may have been a tad unorthodox, but Homa is eager to sample more of the East Lothian golfing delights when he returns to this parish in July.
In one of the country’s great heartlands of the game, Homa will be spoilt for choice.
“This year, I’ll try to do something similar just because there’s just so much great golf in that area,” added the six-time PGA Tour winner. “Last year, I was obviously trying to play and win a golf tournament. But I’m also human. I want to have some human golf-dork experiences. And it worked out. I played great the next day after playing North Berwick. Sometimes when you get that joy of doing something you wanted to do since you were a kid, that can make you find that love and invigoration for golf.”
Over the West Links of North Berwick, there is plenty to stir the senses.
“The 16th, a short par-four, has a crazy green,” he said of a putting surface that almost requires an Ordnance Survey map to find a route to the flag. “I happened to hit a good drive and it was in the most boring, easy spot. If it was in a golf tournament I would’ve been happy. But I was frustrated that day because my caddie hit it short left and from 30 yards hit a 5-iron that bounced like four times, went up and over, down and up again. It looked awesome.
“My coach had to hit a hooking 8-iron from the right. I was very jealous of them getting to try something like that. There are so many different shots than what we normally hit. It’s a lot of fun.”
And what about that “wild” experience of partnering Woods for the first two rounds of The 150th Open over the Old Course?
Homa, like Woods, would miss the cut in his first outing over the storied links of the Auld Grey Toun but the memory will be etched in the mind as if seared on with a branding iron.
“We obviously play to compete and to win and it was a bummer of a week for me, but that memory is pretty awesome,” he said. “I’ll tell my kid about that, and anybody who will listen. Every once in a while, you get really lucky to be in the right place at the right time. I felt like I was that week.”
Homa will be back on Scottish turf in two months’ time. We are sure it will be awesome, or a blast or wild. Take your pick.
