‘A chip on my shoulder’: Why Max Homa had extra motivation to win in Napa

Max Homa has indisputably been one of the best golfers on the planet over the past 18 months.

Don’t believe me? Just take a look at his resume.

After his latest victory in Napa, Homa has four wins over that time period, matching the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. His strokes-gained performance last season was 13th, and he finished fifth in the FedEx Cup standings. Oh, and he earned a spot on this week’s Presidents Cup team, too.

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Despite the trophies and the accolades, the naysayers persisted. Social media trolls insisted that his captain’s pick selection deserved an asterisk on account of the LIV defections. If the full roster of American players were available for picks, Homa would have been passed over.

Those doubters only served as added motivation for the 31-year-old.

“I’ve had a lot of people tell me if the LIV guys wouldn’t have left, I wouldn’t have made the Presidents Cup team,” Homa said. “So I had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder this week.”

What does a Max Homa chip-on-the-shoulder performance look like? It ended with a must-make, walk-off chip in to seal a win.

“That was crazy,” Homa said. “I still don’t really know what happened.”

But while the walk-off chip in has grabbed a majority of the headlines, Homa’s consistency on the week can’t be overlooked. Over 72 holes, he made just four bogeys. He carded three rounds in the 60s despite a “cold” putter, and he became just the second player ever to go back-to-back in the event.

Tally it all up and it ended with yet another Homa win.

“[It’s] little bit like a dream,” he said. “And then oddly enough a little bit like this is where I’m supposed to be.”

Just don’t tell that to the social media trolls.