In the zone, Max Homa rolls in 10 birdies to set course record and lead BMW Championship
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Max Homa broke the course record for PGA Tour and Major championship events while tying his career-low round on tour.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
CHICAGO – In the zone, Max Homa racked up 10 birdies, fired an eight-under 62 and grabbed the second-round lead at the BMW Championship on Friday.
Homa, who piled up six birdies on the back nine alone, broke the course record for PGA Tour and Major championship events while tying his career-low round on tour.
He sits at 10-under 130, two shots ahead of Chris Kirk, who posted his second-straight 66.
Matt Fitzpatrick of England (67 on Friday) and first-round co-leader Brian Harman (68) are tied for third at seven under at the Olympia Fields Country Club near Chicago.
“After 14 or 15, I just was thinking to myself, ‘I’ve birdied most of the holes on the back nine,’ and that was quite a nice feeling,” Homa said. “Sometimes you’re just zoning, but I knew I was making a lot.”
He entered the second of three FedExCup play-off events No. 6 in points and would rocket to No. 1 with a victory at the BMW, allowing him to start next week’s Tour Championship with a two-stroke advantage on the field.
After going out in 32 with four birdies and a bogey, Homa sank a 13-foot birdie putt at the par-four 10th and a downhill birdie putt from 22 feet at the par-four 11th.
He rang up three more in a row at Nos. 13-15, from 18, 13 and six feet away, respectively.
Homa took his second bogey of the day at the par-three 16th hole when his tee shot nearly found a water hazard, but he rebounded at No. 17 with his 10th birdie.
“I’ve been putting great all year. But it was helpful, like I said, I was in the fairway a lot, so I was able to be a bit more particular of where I was leaving it,” he said.
Only the top 30 players in FedExCup points after Sunday will qualify for the Tour Championship; Kirk entered the week No. 29. On Friday, he birdied three straight par-fours – Nos. 3-5 – and added one more on the back nine while staying bogey-free.
Though not a household name, Kirk finished second in the 2014 FedExCup play-offs. He took leave from golf in 2019 while fighting alcoholism and depression.
Open champion Harman, who had four birdies and two bogeys on Friday, is No. 9 in points and also could leap to No. 1 with a win.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who shared the first-round lead with Harman, had just one birdie and one bogey on his card for a 70.
He stayed at five under and heads to the weekend tied for fifth with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (69), Rickie Fowler (69), Harris English (67) and England’s Justin Rose (65).
Two-time defending champion Patrick Cantlay shot his second-straight 68 and is in a tie for 10th at four under.
FedExCup points leader Jon Rahm of Spain tied for the worst round of the day, a 74 with no birdies, and dropped to two under for the week.
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan withdrew before his second-round tee time due to a back injury. He will not qualify for the Tour Championship. REUTERS
