It's been a season to forget for Max Homa, but the reality of his current position in professional golf hit him hard on Monday afternoon.
At the U.S. Open Final Qualifying tournament in Columbus, Ohio, Homa lost on the second hole of a five-man playoff to blow his best chance at making it to Oakmont Country Club next week. So, unless the 34-year-old wins the RBC Canadian Open this weekend, he'll miss a major championship for the first time since 2019.
Homa, who carried his own bag all day without a caddie, was in great shape during the first round of the 36-hole qualifier. He took the solo lead at 5-under through 16 holes, but two straight bogeys to close his round dropped him back to a 3-under 69.
The American made six birdies in his second round to get himself back in position to grab a qualifying spot, but a three-putt par on his final hole forced him into a 5-for-1 playoff with Cameron Young, Rickie Fowler, Eric Cole, and Chase Johnson.
On his 37th hole of the day, Homa could only watch as Young drained a mid-range birdie putt to win the playoff and grab the final qualifying spot from the Columbus site. And things got worse on hole 38, as Homa failed to even get one of the two alternate spots, which went to Cole and Johnson.
"It’s going to probably be heartbreaking, but it’s all right," Homa said after the Longest Day in Golf, per Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press. "I haven’t carried my bag 36 holes in a while, so I’m a little tired."
Homa didn't offer much of an explanation as to why his caddie of two months, Bill Harke, wasn't with him in Columbus. Harke was on his bag just a day before for the final round of the Memorial Tournament, but Ferguson reports the duo is no longer together.
"It seems to be better than when someone is standing next to me for some reason," Homa said. "I might need to walk by myself more. Maybe I just looked at it as a nice, peaceful walk. Probably got to battle some demons and have no one to lean on. Maybe that helps a little bit. There’s no one ... everything is me. The battle helped that a little bit."
This must be a lonely spot for Homa. Ahead of the 2025 season, he fired his coach and switched his equipment from Titleist to Cobra. Earlier this year, he split up with his longtime caddie and good friend, Joe Greiner. Now, he'll be searching for his third caddie in as many months.
The behind-the-scenes drama has clearly affected his play in 2025. Through 13 PGA Tour starts this season, Homa has five missed cuts and has just one top-20 finish. He currently ranks 110th in the FedEx Cup standings and 90th in the Official World Golf Ranking. It's been quite the swift fall from grace for a player who was ranked 10th in the world at this time last year.
In the span of only 12 months, Homa has gone from the elite tier of players on the PGA Tour to a grinder carrying his bag 38 holes just to crack the U.S. Open field. If he's not careful, this downward spiral could be the beginning of the end.