PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 16: Tiger Woods of the United States walks on the 12th hole during the final round of the Genesis Invitational on February 16, 2020 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)Max Homa claimed victory at the 2021 Genesis Invitational today, beating Tony Finau in a playoff to secure his second-ever PGA Tour win.
After notching the win and hoisting the trophy, Homa was pretty emotional. He revealed that watching the Genesis Invitational throughout his life (in its former iterations) helped him fall in love with golf.
Homa also admitted to being a bit star-struck by Tiger Woods, whose Tiger Woods Foundation organizes the event. He said that he was “too scared to talk to Tiger” earlier in the tournament, but is looking forward to speaking to him now.
“Been watching this tournament my whole life. It’s why I fell in love with golf…” Homa said. “I was too scared to talk to Tiger the other day but he’s forced to talk to me now so it’s gonna be pretty awesome.”
Max Homa emotional after his win:
"Been watching this tournament my whole life. It's why I fell in love with golf … I was too scared to talk to Tiger the other day but he's forced to talk to me now so it's gonna be pretty awesome." 😂@maxhoma23 pic.twitter.com/1BWi7kflyH
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) February 21, 2021
Wins have been hard to come by for Max Homa since he went pro in 2013. He lost his PGA Tour card twice and didn’t notch his first PGA win until 2019, when he beat Joel Dahmen by three strokes to win the Wells Fargo Championship.
Homa has appeared in five majors, but has only made the cut for one – the 2019 PGA Championship. He finished tied for 64th.
Perhaps this win will give Homa the boost he needs to finish above the line once the majors roll around.
At the very least, it will get him some quality time with his idol, Tiger Woods.
