“I thought I was significantly more popular” - Max Homa says he’s getting used to being on an elite field 

Max Homa has come a long way in the past five years. The golfer has gone from being an ardent Tiger Woods fan to becoming one of his competitors. Much like his fans, Homa also has some difficulty sinking this in.

Speaking from the Bahamas ahead of the Hero World Challenge, Homa on Wednesday revealed that he is still adjusting to the elite field he is a part of. The golfer, who arrived long before the rest of the 20-man field, said that he always felt “significantly more popular” than his golf skills.

The golfer was speaking about the PGA Tour’s Player Impact Program when he said that he was in a good position.

Max Homa, who won $3 million finishing at No. 14 on the PIP, said:

“I always thought I was significantly more popular than I was good at golf… So, it feels nice that those things are aligning, so that’s a little mini-bonus. But at the end of the day, 14th is pretty good.”

The golfer, known for his humor, went a step ahead and said that he would like to be more popular like the rest of the field. No. 16 in the world rankings, Homa said that he likes to be a part of the gossip.

He added:

“I guess it would have been cool to be a part of that so I could live the life of ... it felt like a reality TV series for a bit.”

Speaking to the media at the Hero World Challenge, the golfer said:

“I don’t feel like this is the thing that’s making me feel like I belong. I felt like that for quite a while. But it is very cool to be here.”

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Max Homa reveals his failed attempt to boost PIP score

Interestingly, Max Homa revealed that he himself tried to get into the LIV rumor mill. The golfer said that he was impressed by the online traction Brooks Koepka got after he removed “PGA Tour/Nike athlete” from his Twitter profile before he signed with LIV. Homa decided to copy the move.

The golfer said that he, too, changed his Twitter bio, but as a joke. Homa wanted to see if he could boost his PIP score. However, the plan failed as nobody really noticed a big change in his profile.

Speaking about the episode, Max Homa said:

“I changed my bio on Twitter once when I think Brooks changed his bio and everyone figured out he was going [to LIV]. I was like, ‘Oh, I'm going to get in on this and see if people catch on but didn't realize that my Twitter bio doesn't get a ton of traction, so that was news to me.”

He added:

“I had fun with it. It was taken as like slights to the LIV Tour, but I never meant … I just make fun of everything that I do and what other people do. So it was funny. I would have liked to be caught in the rumor mill so I could have run with it for a little while, it would have been good for that PIP thing, but was not lucky enough to be caught up.”

It is pertinent to note that Max Homa himself has revealed that his childhood screen name was “NextTigerWoods59”. The golfer is among the names who is bound to stay with the PGA Tour despite temptations from LIV.