Max Homa refused to let an alleged drunk man get away with his shenanigans during the third round at the BMW Championship.
Max Homa blasts ‘drunk’ bettor at BMW Championship amid disruption on the green
Homa did not hold back his feelings after an alleged drunk fan acted a fool in the third round of the BMW Championship.
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Homa and Chris Kirk and were in the final group after the former set the course record Friday. On the 17th green, the fan yelled at Kirk first after he missed a short putt. He didn’t stop there as he also yelled during Homa’s backstroke.
Following the disruption, Homa laid into the patron.
“There was probably a drunk, I hope, for his case, or else he’s just the biggest loser there is,” Homa said.
“He was cheering and yelling at Chris for missing his putt short, and he kept yelling that he had— one of them had $3 for me to make mine, and I got to the back of my backstroke, and he yelled, ‘pull it’ pretty loud, and I made it right in the middle, and then I just started yelling at him, and then Joe yelled at him.”
Joe Greiner is Homa’s caddie, and he let the spectator have it also.
“I don’t know what Joe yelled. He was a lot meaner, I think,” Homa said. “Hope he has a nice night, but it just sucks when that happens, but I was happy I made it. It was rude what he did to Chris.”
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Live betting is a newer development in golf, making incidents like the one on Saturday at the BMW Championship more likely to occur.
The Burbank, CA native mentioned it gives him pause about the practice. He likes that people can bet on golf, but how that guy handled it does raise a red flag.
“I don’t know what he had to lose,” Homa said. “It’s just always something that’s on your mind. It’s on us to stay focused or whatever, but it’s just annoying when it happens... It’s like the one thing we have in this game, fans are so great about being quiet when we play.”
“I think they are awesome. When anybody ever talks, it’s so unintentional. They don’t know we’re hitting. It just sucks when it’s incredibly intentional, and his friend specifically said it was for $3, so that was—not that the money matters, but that’s a frustrating number.”
Homa made a birdie on the 17th hole despite the guy yelling in his backstroke. He finished the round with a 1-over 71 and at 9-under through three rounds.
He entered play Sunday two shots off the lead with an automatic Ryder Cup berth on the line. He needs to finish T9 or better to clinch the spot.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and on Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
