Defending champion Max Homa sits atop Nedbank Golf leaderboard in South Africa

Max Homa is back in South Africa for the Nedbank Golf Challenge and in a familiar position.

After winning this tournament last year at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, Homa sits atop the leaderboard after day one. He carded a 6-under 66, a round that featured eight birdies, two bogies, and plenty of holed putts. Homa picked up right where he left off, birdieing his first three holes to get off to a strong start. He went on to birdie the 6th and 9th holes as well, going out with a 5-under 31, making his presence known to the rest of the field.

But around the midway point of his round, the wind completely shifted, which, as he explained, “completely through him for a loop.” Bogies at the 13th and 15th holes followed, the latter due to him and his caddie miscalculating a yardage.

A two-putt par followed on the par-3 16th, and then Homa could not have played the quirky 17th and 18th holes any better. He found the fairway off both tees, something he struggled with throughout 2024, and then stuffed his approaches inside 11 feet on both occasions. Both putts then found the bottom of the cup, which propelled him into the solo lead by a stroke over South African Ockie Strydom.

“It felt really good because I haven’t played a tournament in a while, and I have been working on a lot of new stuff, so to come out and birdie the first three holes was cool,” Homa said.

“The way I was doing it felt nice, and I felt really comfortable with the golf swing for the most part, so [this round] is definitely one I will remember, that is for sure.”

Homa has not played since late October, when he tied for 27th at the ZOZO Championship in Japan. In his 10 starts before then, his best finish was a T-22 at the Memorial. He also missed two cuts during that stretch.

Struggles outweighed success in 2024, as Homa has not won professionally since he triumphed at this event last year. That reality helps explain why Homa felt so pleased walking off the golf course on Thursday.

“Just the way I drove the ball all season was terrible, and you come to a golf course like this where you cannot fake it off the tee. You need to hit some good tee shots, and you are going to be uncomfortable with the wind, so you obviously want to come here and win, but I am trying to get ready for next season and put to use some of this work I have done,” Homa said.

“So, to see something that I can take with me going back home is a big deal, so just that alone I am very happy with.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.