Cal Golf: Max Homa Climbs to a Tie for 6th at The Players Championship

After back-to-back even-par scores to open play at The Players Championship, Max Homa found his groove at TPC Sawgrass over the weekend.

The 32-year-old Cal grad shot 5-under 67 on Saturday and was on his way to matching that in the final round.

Homa had moved up to a tie for third place with two holes to play before a double-bogey on No. 17 pushed him back into the field. He made par on the 18th and wound up at 69 for the day, leaving him at 8 under for the tournament and tied for sixth place.

With his performance, Homa inched up one spot to a career-best No. 6 in the official world rankings.

Collin Morikawa, now No. 11 in the world, overcame a triple bogey on No. 10 to assemble a final-round score of 5-under 67. The 26-year-old Cal alum, who was alone in second place after Thursday and tied for third at the halfway point, found up tied for 13th at minus-7.

A third ex-Cal golfer, Byeong Hun An of South Korea, shot a 1-over 73 in the final round and finished at 4 under and in a tie for 35th place.

Scottie Scheffler, on the heels of a 7-under 65 on Saturday, closed with a 69 and never was threatened on the way shooting 17 under for the event referred to as the Fifth Major.

Scheffler, who will ascend from No. 2 and No. 1 in the world, topped the field by a five-stroke margin and took home a record-$4.5 million first prize. He had five straight birdies at one point on Sunday and led by as many as six strokes.

"I got hot in the middle of the round and tried to put things away as quickly as I can," Scheffler said. "Gosh, it's fun."

Tyrell Hatton wound up second at 12 under after shooting 65 on Sunday. He earned $2,725,000. Viktor Hovland and Tom Hoge, who carded a 62 on Saturday, tied for third at 10 under and each pocketed $1,475,000 from the total prize pool of $25 million.

Homa began his round Sunday with birdies on Nos. 2, 10 and 12 with an eagle on the par-5 11th hole. That put him at 10 under for the tournament but his double bogey on the 17th stalled his comeback before he closed with par on the final hole.

Homa, a winner twice on the PGA Tour this season, takes home $736,607 as his share of a seven-way tie for sixth place.

Morikawa was 2 under for the day when he carded his triple bogey on the 10th. He recovered with birdies on 11 and 12 then bogeyed No. 13. He played the final five holes at 1 under, thanks to a birdie on No. 17.

Morikawa pocketed $447,917.

An, who played one season at Cal in 2011, suffered his worst round of the week, skidding from a tie for 26th place after Saturday to 35th. He earned $114,167.

He stumbled on No. 10, just as Morikawa did, carding a double bogey. Six holes later, on No. 16, he made an eagle-3.

Cover photo of Max Homa by David Yeazell, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

Add us as a preferred source on Google