Max Homa takes Masters by storm with impressive Friday Augusta National marathon

Max Homa started strong Friday, finishing his first round of The Masters with a 5-under 67.

Homa had to fight the wind for most of his second round at Augusta National but still found a way to remain under par, signing for a 1-under 71 to sit at 6-under on the tournament.

His 36-hole total of 6-under 138 is a career low for him in any major championship.

Homa currently sits one shot off the leader, Bryson DeChambeau, who is still on the course dealing with the heavy gusts.

“I struck the ball really well. I’ve done everything quite well on the golf course, but most proud of what’s gone on with our course management, controlling thoughts, expectations and all that,” Homa said. “It’s been fun. These conditions have helped me almost lean into the patience and all the things you hear — the clichés. I feel I’ve done a great job and hit some good shots alongside that.

Round 1 saw him make seven birdies and two bogeys. However, his putter went cold during the second round, and he didn’t score as well, making two birdies and a bogey. The No. 11 golfer in the world had to grind out par after par.

But with the way the wind is affecting players, par is a good score on just about any hole.

It wasn’t just the flat stick that failed the California native. Homa went from hitting 86% of his fairways in Round 1 to just 57% in his second 18 holes. He did improve on the greens though, hitting 15-of-18.

The wind gave everyone trouble, so for Homa to keep it under par is incredible under these conditions.

The former Cal-Berkley golfer played alongside Tiger Woods, one of his heroes, and Jason Day.

A number of players may find that difficult, but Homa he enjoyed it. He told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt in Butler Cabin that getting into his own little world was easy since the focus wasn’t on him.

“I’ve enjoyed myself over the last two days as a fan with a slightly better seat,” Homa said.

He explained how playing with Tiger for The Masters has been the dream.

“I always wanted to watch him hit iron shots around here, and I was right up next to him,” Homa said. “It was cool. His short game was so good. I don’t think I can explain how good some of the chip shots he hit today were... He understands this golf course so well. His iron play is so good that even when he did miss the green, you could tell he had so much control.”

“On 18, we had sandblasts for 45 seconds, and I turned around five times, so I didn’t get crushed in the face, and he’s standing there like a statue and poured it right in the middle. All the cliches you hear and all the old stories about how he will grind it out, it was fun to see that in person.”

Majors haven’t been Homa’s strong suit.

Outside of last year’s Open Championship, where he finished T10, this is one of the 33-year-old’s best starts at a major. His best finish at Augusta National was T43 in 2023 and he also had a T13 in 2022 at the PGA Championship.

It seems he has figured something out with how he started the 88th Masters Tournament, maybe playing with Woods was the key all along.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.