Cal Sports Report

Max Homa Springs to Life: He Soars After 64 at PGA Championship

The 34-year-old Cal grad, mired in a year-long slump, enters the weekend tied for fifth place, just three strokes off the lead
Jeff Faraudo|
Max Homa
Max Homa | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

In this story:

California Golden Bears

Updated

Max Homa began Friday’s second round of the 107th PGA Championship needing a big day to avoid being cut.

He responded with a stunning performance, shooting a 7-under 64 -- his best round ever in a major and his best in any event since 2023 -- to hoist himself toward the top of the leaderboard.

The 34-year-old Cal graduate reached as high as a tie for second place but wound up tied for fifth place with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler when play ended six hours after he left the course.

Homa has been mired in a prolonged slump of more than a year since finishing in a tie for third place at the 2024 Masters. He reached No. 5 in the world rankings last spring but entered play this week having missed five cuts in 2025 while sliding to No. 78 in the world rankings.

Homa said he didn’t feel dramatically different on Friday, but that he made some putts. “It was good not to feel like it was some crazy, out-of-the-ordinary day,” he said.

His play a week ago at the Trust Championship gave him confidence there would be carryover. "Other weeks you're almost hopeful or hoping for a good round,” he said. “This week I knew I was going to play some good golf." 

He admitted that in recent months he “has felt so broken,” but several weeks ago saw he progress with his swing while working with coach John Scott.

“It’s been hard. I feel like I’ve been playing with a foreign swing at times. I have weeks at home, I’m like, it’s not bad,” Homa said. “Last week was the first week where I played where, OK, this feels . . . I hate to say the old me because I don’t like thinking like that. It just felt like I was plodding my way around the golf course different and I was hitting enough good shots to play well.”

The six-time PGA Tour winner was spectacular on Friday.

The day after posting a 2-over 73 that left him in a tie for 73rd place, Homa began play on the back nine and shot a 30 over that stretch, with birdies on Nos. 10, 13, 15 and 18 and an eagle on the par-4 14th.

After making the turn, Homa made a birdie on No. 3 before his first — and only — bogey of the day on the fourth hole. When he carded his sixth birdie of the round on No. 7, he briefly inched up to a tie for second place, trailing only Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas.

That represented a spectacular climb of 71 rungs on the leaderboard, although by the time everyone was in the clubhouse he and Scheffler — who shot a 68 on Friday — were tied for fifth. 

Vegas held onto a two-stroke lead after a 1-under 70 puts him at minus-8 through 36 holes. Si Woo Kim, who carded a 64, Matthieu Pavon and Matt Fitzpatrick share second place at minus-6, one stroke better than Homa and Scheffler.

Collin Morikawa hits his pitch on the second hole
Collin Morikawa hits his pitch on the second hole | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The day started just as productively for Home’s fellow Golden Bear alum, fourth-ranked Collin Morikawa. He began the day in a 17-way for 29th place after a 1-under 70 on Thursday.

The winner of the PGA Championship in 2020, Morikawa made a move early in the second round while starting on the back nine. He birdied Nos. 10, 12 and 16 and moved to 4 under and a tie for third place.

But the 28-year-old suffered a double-bogey on the 18th hole for the second day in a row and plummeted to a tie for 24th place. He made the turn and after bogeys on the second and third holes he fell into a tie for 52nd place at plus-1 — a drop of 49 spots over the span of just four holes.

By day’s end, Morikawa and 12 others were tied for 49th.

Byeong Hun An, who spent one year at Cal, shot a 2-over 73 after carding a 2-under 69 on Thursday, and was among those at even par entering play Saturday.

Cal grad Michael Kim shot a 72 and is tied for 62nd place at plus-1, just getting inside the cut line. Among those sharing that spot are world No. 2 Rory McIlroy — a co-favorite with Scheffler coming after his win at the Masters last month — and third-ranked Xander Schauffele.

Follow Jeff Faraudo on Twitter, Facebook and Bluesky

Recent articles:

No. 14 on our countdown of best RV commercials with Cal athletes: Keenan Allen

Cal golf rallies to secure NCAA tournament bid

Jaylen Brown gives Celtics just what they needed to stay alive in NBA playoffs

Published | Modified
Jeff Faraudo
JEFF FARAUDO

Jeff Faraudo was a sports writer for Bay Area daily newspapers since he was 17 years old, and was the Oakland Tribune's Cal beat writer for 24 years. He covered eight Final Fours, four NBA Finals and four Summer Olympics. 

Home/Other Sports