Watch Max Homa’s pre-tournament press conference ahead of the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.
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Contested each May, the PGA Championship is the second major championship in golf’s annual rotation, and perennially features the strongest field in the men’s game based on the Official World Golf Rankings. Known for dramatic finishes and notable champions, the Wanamaker Trophy—which has been awarded to the winner since 1916—is inscribed with names such as Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player.
The 2024 PGA Championship is set to take place between 13-19 May at Valhalla Golf Club. The reigning champion is Brooks Koepka.
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all right welcome back to the 106 PGA Championship at bajala golf club we’re joined Now by Max H Max welcome to your sixth PJ Championship what are your impressions of the golf course so far yeah it’s good it’s a big it’s very long um looks kind of familiar just from you know all the highlights on TV but it’s good it feels like a kind of the new stock standard of a p Championship obviously won’t be as firm as last year but kind of a similar type Vibe need to drive the ball well and hit your mid to Long erand uh really good but it’s in awesome shape uh so it should be a fun week great thanks we’ll open up for questions starting with Jeff thanks you there start to finish at Augusta what did you learn that week that you can apply to this week um I I think just my process throughout the week was really good my prep was really good I felt like I had a better kind of plan uh didn’t build it up too much uh didn’t try to be too perfect played the week before things like that uh and then just the actual you know event uh just kind of learned that I can handle my nerve uh it was a long you know week just on the on the uh butterfly side you know playing with tiger the first two days with some weather long couple days and then being in the last group Saturday uh second last group Sunday feel like you have a chance through 11-ish hole so just knowing that I I still played really good golf um so to kind of take both of those the prep part is what I’ve been struggling with the Thursdays and Fridays of Majors but it was nice to also see that as it got down to the nitty-gritty I was able to kind of hang in there great we’ll go to Dan followed by Mike 16 and two you’d already won so many PGA Tour events and big events on on big hard courses but but did it take AEK week like Augusto where you were in the mix all week at the at a major to sort of believe that it’s possible yeah I mean I think I believed it’s possible I I but like I always say this about people who haven’t won a Tour event before or or just a a major professional event like you you could have all the people in the world tell you it’s possible and you you can or whatever but it kind of almost takes you doing it once to truly be able to confirm that uh to your own mind so obviously didn’t win it but it was nice just to I didn’t play Bad Golf on the weekend it’s not like I shot myself out of the event um you know like I said after that 11th hole I was I was very much uh stoked to know I had a very real chance to win The Masters win my first major you know get a really bad break on 12 um on not a bad swing and it’s that’s the stuff that kind of leaves you at a loss for words at times and super frustrated but in the end as far as this you know journey of professional golf goes it was kind of good because I I could rest my head easy knowing I did what I was trying to do um so I think I always knew in the back of my mind my golf was good enough I didn’t know if I’d be able to handle all of that uh chaos you know the night of a SAT like a Saturday night or you know being final group Saturday so Friday night and then Friday morning so no one I could do that I think that definitely has given me some solace in the fact that if I am in that position again I I am ready for it I just need to you know make some more putts and and you know see what happens coming down the the end of the event but uh yeah I I guess that’s that’s what I take from from that experience Max what do you you mentioned over here uh you mentioned that the pj’s kind of leaned into a certain identity each major kind of has that US Open the open kind of ways they style a course master obviously cuz it’s the same course just wondering what you think about the PJ kind of leaning into its own thing and what they’ve chosen yeah I like it it’s actually kind of the old model of the US Open but a bit easier um typically hasn’t been super firm uh so but from T to Green it’s incredibly similar to what the old us opens were maybe a little bit more forgiving Fairways but really thick rough um a lot of drivers uh need to be in the Fairway feels like to score but the biggest difference is it feels like at PJs if you’re in the Fairway you can score you can go pretty low uh the US open’s gone to a slightly different model which I like it’s a lot more you know they’ve kind of leaned into the firm so a lot more Fairway grass uh a lot more strategy I I feel like the PGA don’t in a way don’t have as much strategy but it tests skill a lot like in in a different way um you really need to strike the ball well um you know you kind of get away with it even at at US Open just because it’s so hard that you your the skill kind of shifts to almost a short game of patience and uh grinder mentality this is you know it’s when you look at a course like last week or last year you know and you see who won Brooks wins and you’re like yeah that makes tons of sense he hits the ball really far he hits it very straight and he he’s a really really great iron player so it feels like that’s they’ve leaned into it and I think that’s good because I like variety even if you’re just looking for a season of of you know like the tour season I you know you have a Hilton Head but then you have a Quail Hollow and then we’ll have Colonial and then we’ll have you know I like the variety and I feel like these four majors now have a pretty good style of variety yeah Max with this being an Olympic year have you given much thought to being a guy who’s kind of Within Reach of that has it been a goal of yours to want to be in Paris this summer it’s funny last year when I uh kind of kind of realized I had a pretty decent chance uh I kind of laughed it off and just I never dreamt of you know playing being an Olympian um not you know I’m probably faster than most people out here but not much faster than anybody else uh so I kind of was like yeah I’m not going to make it a massive goal but it would have been cool and then I as we’ve gotten closer it’s become a goal it would I think it’d be pretty amazing uh so yeah now now it’s like on the tip of my mind we were just talking about it uh actually at breakfast so it would be I think it just felt kind of not real as a golfer I don’t think the Olympics ever feels like a real thing we’re going to do and then you get a chance and now I would really like to be a part of that uh so yeah it would you know we have like a month and a half or so left so pretty pretty excited for that that opportunity it’s it’s actually kind of like a win-win again because never really imagined myself doing that so if I don’t get it it wouldn’t hurt quite as bad um but for sure would be an amazing experience and some I’m very uh very much gunning for over the next you know few golf tournaments we’ll go next to Mike 13 5 and 8 Max as a as a golf pro who’s a dad what advice would you give to Scotty shuffler man be really nice to your wife uh find a thing that you’re you you you are good at you can help as best you can watch your back dad back is a real thing but I think I mean I’m sure he’ll just be giving me advice soon because he’s so good at everything but just being really good with your time I feel like one thing I’ve Gotten Good at is uh and I have a superstar of a wife but when I’m at the golf course I feel very much at the golf course I try to be super efficient I try to make sure I’m really getting my work in and then when I’m home I feel the kind of the same really you know not to make it sound like it’s uh it’s the same but really efficient when I’m home I feel as present as I possibly can um really try to soak in all those moments as best I can and give my son as much attention as I can because I know I’m gone most of the day and some weeks so just getting really good at time management I feel like that’s probably it’s probably the hardest thing when you’re trying to be or he already is but when you’re trying to be the best you know at something in the whole world yet you know I want to instill that work ethic and whatnot with my son so I still want to be doing that but I also want to be a really good dad and uh you know not neglect and all that so I I I would just say that if you can kind of find a good plan of time management and I I feel like you’ll feel the Fulfillment of both things and again I think Scotty’s gonna be just fine at that Max you mentioned you mentioned uh playing with tiger you recently renounced being on his team in tgl what do you what do you expect to be like now being on I guess him being your captain on a team with him as the captain and then and then just a little bit more what what are your expectations of tgl what will be like will it be difficult fitting in in schedules things like that yeah I I think if you look at our team um with tiger and Tom and then myself and Kevin kizner I think they got me and Kev for uh you know our mouss uh tiger and Tom can play the golf uh it should be fun though I mean I think it’s I think you’re going to have to see it to like fully get it for everybody uh like it’s a lot bigger than playing like simulator golf it is straight up supposed to be fun I’m hoping everyone doesn’t take it you know make it sound like it’s too serious of a thing I mean it’ll be serious competition but I think a lot of it is just supposed to be fun showcasing some some cool golf and I mean we’re hitting off you know the the facility is insane from what I’ve seen I mean it’s like grass and you can adjust the putting grein and it will be very unique uh so I think it’ll be fun um I think also that kind of intimate environment should bring out some more personality and uh you know as I’ve been kind of talking about for months now you know all of this is supposed to just be for the fans I feel like this is something that is leaning into the fans experience uh obviously a lot easier to broadcast we’re all in the same building um so yeah again going to be one of those things that uh probably abs and flows as we go about doing it but obviously a lot of great golfers and uh a very unique and cool uh Stadium type golf thing that we’ve never really seen before thanks AR hey Max um obviously this is a home town week for Justin Thomas and uh you’re a guy that wears LA on your sleeve pretty strong and I’m curious what the challenges are you know having done well in your home event and what what’s the challenges of of of trying to not want it too much and put too much pressure on yourself yeah It’s Tricky I I think though if you lean into the support you’re getting it helps a lot instead of you know it’s easy to make it nerve-racking and you know I’m sure he really really really wants to win this even more than another major however he’s going to have tons of support as he should I think that’s that’s the part if you use that to your advantage that’s where you get kind of you know we don’t typically get a home court advantage in golf but I think that’s where you can kind of find it a little bit um the the difficulties actually aren’t so much the wanting it more it’s just you know a lot more people here a lot of people messaging you asking for Stuff uh and you know you want to oblige and and you know Justin’s a great dude and he’s going to want to you know still be that great person but I think uh you know and I know he’ll do a great job of it but just having a plan of like hey probably not respond to too many people and just kind of go about it like it’s a an event not in his home state but yeah I think when you lean into just how cool it is to get to play something in in your hometown and have all that support I think that kind of boosts you great next we’ll go up to Adam on 19 followed by Ryan at 11 and both of you at six Max just to follow on one of your answers what is your thing as a dad uh well now it’s gotten different we you have to just do everything but in the very beginning uh I was I’m a pretty damn good at diapers I don’t mind it uh so yeah if there was ever like a spare you know if there was ever a where button heads on who was next I would take that one never great at swaddling that one killed me um but now it’s just you know now now we’re at a year and a half so it’s just straight up chaos so my thing is just uh I’m I’m the relief pitcher I come home after practice and it’s just my turn so uh just doing my best to to relieve uh my wife Lacy as best I can hav’t haven’t played with tiger two rounds at the Masters how much what’s your assessment of how much he has left in the tank yeah I mean his golf game was incredible two days I play with him um he had it great if he had made anything he would have been right around the lead so uh it was a tough draw for him and we had to play 20 some odd holes the second day um he wasn’t limping too too bad uh so yeah I think he’s got a decent amount I think at some point it probably just comes down to him he how badly does he want it and I feel like we all know he wants it real bad so I feel like it’s just kind of on that but his skill level Talent is still just mesmerizing so U yeah I I don’t I don’t know his playing schedule going forward I I I you know I know he plays in these big ones I I feel like it would it would uh as always would be crazy to think he’d win another one but watching him play those two days at a Gua I very much thought he could win another golf tournament so yeah I I don’t know tank wise but he he works his ass off and he’s really really good at golf so I I I put nothing past him at this point Max just curious how you came uh up with the major prep plan that you think works best for you was it something you came up on your on your own um trial and error Consulting with your team just curious how that came about error and error pretty much uh yeah it mostly just honestly through uh the Scottish open helped a lot you know I thought it was so obvious to go over and play the Scottish open uh before the open because you know it’s such diff different golf you want to kind of get comfy hitting a lot of different shots around the greens getting used to the wind uh and then also the time change so that always seemed obvious to go over there and started to realize that the most comfortable major I played in is the open I always feel like my game is the most ready uh and my my mind is in the right spot and started to realize well it’s a lot of is probably because I’m just playing golf the week prior and I was doing the you know Skip the week before the major thing to get my prep in and realized I was leaving Scottdale with like this perfect golf game and then I was going to let’s say Augusta Monday and if it wasn’t perfect I would I was trying to find it again and hold on to it instead of this year you know I played the Valero and um had a really good feel for my golf game but as the week went on even though I didn’t play amazing I I knew what shots were kind of uncomfortable I knew what shots felt good I knew what my misses were and I felt like that was a better way to spend my time and get better instead of trying to hold on to a perfect golf swing for you know an extra seven days uh build it up too much being perfect is uh overly perfect is my one of my bigger struggle so uh yeah it was just kind of almost just hits you in the face at some point played well at the open this past year and thought you know talked to Joe and Mark and I was like I feel like it’s fairly obvious we should just start playing the week prior and maybe it’ll get me out of my own head and you know it’s only one one uh very very very small sample size but it sure worked at Augusta you know hadn’t played worth it damn there and went out there and actually played some real golf so I just think that for everyone’s different but for me uh what I was doing at home was was good for long-term success not so good for the following week hey Max so you mentioned Scotty earlier I’m curious as as a fellow competitor what’s it like to kind of see what he’s doing is it frustrating motivating a little bit of both yeah no I think it’s just uh motivating it’s inspiring um sometimes pretty cool to see see somebody kind of push the limit on what you thought was possible I did not think you could hit a golf ball this well this long I did not know that was possible um we saw it with Tiger but I wasn’t around then and tiger feels like a like a mythological creature especially when you look back on some of those Seasons he had and from 2000 to 200 eight or nine or whatever it was I mean just like absurd golf uh so to get to see that up close and know that that’s a real possibility I think it’s super motivating um and yeah it just I I feel like it gives you something to work at you know you can really got to push yourself harder and and reach even more for what you thought you know almost was unrealistic and start to realize that it is realistic and if you want to win majors and if you want to climb that world ranking you you you’re going to have to do some special special special special stuff uh Max you mentioned watching some of the past tournaments here did you did you watch something coming into this and what are your memories of of those past pgaas or what did you pick up watching them um I rarely like pick up much I’m watching them just because they’re fun to watch appreciate what they do on YouTube you know it’s cool to watch I saw AK play Anthony or AK play Sergio watched that match maybe like two months ago um you know I think everybody’s seen the the Bob May tiger thing like a million times and then uh you know Rory coming down the stretch haven’t watched that one a time just actually remember watching in 14 uh I think what you pick up though it’s pretty obvious when you get out here but it’s just going to be a lot of you know well struck seven irons well struck six irons hit the ball well uh off the tea and and then see what you can do going in from there um so yeah again not picking up a ton but it’s one of those where it did feel like if if watching if you in the Fairway you can make a lot of birdies when you were out of position it was going to be quite quite a struggle and like I said that seems like what the PGA model has has gone to which um is good to you know you kind of have a plan going into the week even before you get here we’ll wrap it up at Mike one thank you um max I wanted to ask you there’s been a lot of talk about the state of golf now and what impact all the offc course stuff is having on casual fans in terms of popularity and whatnot I wonder from your Vantage Point where do you see the state of the game now in terms of casual fans why yeah it’s been a bit tricky I do feel like the internet probably makes it seem worse than it really is it’s a very small community and they’re incredibly loud um so I think if you spend a lot of time on the internet it does feel like golf’s crumbling professional golf it’s tough to decipher because when we’re on the grounds of events it’s amazing last week at qu Hollow was awesome felt no different Bay Hill felt no different the players felt no different so it’s odd it doesn’t feel like it’s dying yet you hear a lot of very valid complaints on the internet um so I I think it’s been it’s very troubling I don’t like where it’s going it’s got to be exhausting to be a casual golf fan at this point in time I don’t know why you would want to hear about the business side of this uh game as a fan of other sports I do not care about the business side of what the Lakers and Dodgers are doing uh it so yeah I I it is troubling however it it’s just difficult because we come here and this you know yesterday was slam packed and it was awesome and everyone just seems like in such a good in such good spirits to just see us playing you know somewhat meaningless practice around when it you know in to in their point of view so it’s it’s it’s tough to kind of completely figure out I hope at some point soon we can just get back to entertaining people and playing golf and seeing who who shoots low score uh and not talking about uh what our player advisory council is going to do and who the the fans of golf should not know who’s on the board like that just seems like a pretty obvious one uh so that would be that would be the goal going forward um so I think you know in some positive light as a fan of just the game of golf the benefit is is golf is thriving that’s cool men’s professional golf might be in a weird spot um so hopefully we can continue to get more people to play golf and then once everybody can get this thing figured out uh hopefully we get those people playing golf to also enjoy watching a little bit of golf um you know we all we we have a lot going on here but uh hopefully at some point everybody can uh can find the plot again thank you thanks for your time Max we appreciate it have a great day
