‘Like having Superman on your team.’ Max Homa loving life during first Presidents Cup

It would be hard to find a hotter golfer on earth right now than Max Homa.

The charismatic 31-year-old with a smile that can brighten a room from the moment he walks in has been doing a lot of that this week at the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club.

Smiling that is. And fist-pumping. And making clutch putts. And winning.

The latter is the most significant for the U.S. team this week as the Americans look to secure a 12th Presidents Cup team win in 14 events.

Steady would be a vast understatement of Homa’s recent play. A professional golfer since 2013, it took Homa six years before he tasted victory on the PGA Tour, finally earning his first win at the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship played, of course, at Quail Hollow.

“This place means a lot to me, got my first win here,” Homa said Saturday.

That he said so after earning his third point in as many matches played for the U.S. side in his inaugural appearance at the Presidents Cup was predictable — nearly as predictable as the result of most of Homa’s putts this week.

“He’s a rock.” U.S. teammate Tony Finau said. “This guy’s solid as a rock. He’s so clutch. I said that on my Instagram a couple days ago before we even played. I’m like, I’m playing with Mr. Clutch. If anybody didn’t know, now you know.” Through Saturday’s rounds, Homa is 3-0-0 in this event.

In addition to his hot hand this week at Quail Hollow, Homa is coming off a win last week in the first PGA Tour event of the 2022-23 season at the Fortinet Championship, which has, for the moment, put the five-time Tour winner atop the FedEx Cup standings. His win at the Fortinet was his second at the event in as many years. That was the first clue his game might translate well at Quail Hollow.

The second? He’s won twice previously at the Charlotte course, once each in 2019 and 2022 at the Wells Fargo Championship.

None of that guaranteed Homa would play well this week, though. He was admittedly tired when he first arrived in Charlotte early Monday morning after his win in California.

“This is all crazy,” Homa said Tuesday. “I feel good. I’m still a little tired. I got a little more sleep last night, but I am looking forward to, I think, by tomorrow morning, I’ll feel great.”

No word on whether Wednesday was better than Tuesday for Homa, but Thursday certainly was. After a back-and-forth match alongside Finau against Taylor Pendrith and Mito Pereira, Homa watched as Finau calmly rolled in a par putt as the Internationals made bogey, sealing his first point as a member of the American team.

“As Tony said on 16, this is what makes us feel alive,” Homa said Thursday. “I felt very alive today.”

On Friday, Homa was very much still alive, while helping the U.S. team drive a dagger into the International team’s hopes with one of the week’s signature moments.

Sitting 11 feet from the pin in two on the par-4 18th, Homa and partner Billy Horschel were even with Corey Conners and Pendrith, who were in with a par. Homa lined up his putt, made his stroke and didn’t take long before giving the teeming gallery the celebratory trifecta: A flash of his beaming smile, a celebratory yelp and a double fist pump.

“I mean, I was nervous as could be over that putt, but it was fun,” Homa said Friday. “I was telling my wife, when we talk about things money can’t buy, money cannot buy that feeling. And that was something that I will remember forever, and I will tell anybody who ever wants to hear about it how that felt.”

For an encore Saturday, all Homa did was pair back up with Finau and earn his third point of the week in a 4-and-3 win over Si Woo Kim and Can Davis, earning a lofty nickname in the process.

“It’s like having Superman on your team, it really is,” Finau said. “He hits clutch shots and makes clutch putts. It’s so fun to watch him play, to root for him, and to watch him pull shots off, hit putts to win matches. It’s been so fun, and that’s what I love so much about the team atmosphere. I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

Homa will try to run his record in his first major international competition to 4-0 during singles play on Sunday. But no matter the result, it’s unlikely Homa’s smile is going to disappear anytime soon.

“This week has been a dream come true,” Homa said. “My partners have been unbelievable, and I’m just having a lot of fun.”