"I deserve to be the best player in the world": Max Homa reacts to missing cut at The Players

Max Homa shared his feelings after missing the cut at the Players Championship 2025. The PGA Tour pro opened up to the reporters at the post-round conference at TPC Sawgrass.

Homa was a part of the 144-man field at the Players Championship, competing for the $4.5 million winner's paycheck. Along with other popular names like Hideki Matsuyama, Viktor Hovland, and Ludvig Aberg, Homa missed the cut at The Players. While talking about his feelings, the Californian golfer said (quoted by PGA Tour):

"I know how hard I work; I know how much I care. So it just feels more just s****y for myself, like internally. I know people probably love this and some people probably hate it for me, but people like to laugh when people aren't doing well."

"I would laugh at that, because I just don't know what more I could be doing at the moment."

Max Homa had a rollercoaster first round at TPC Sawgrass. He scored only one birdie to counter the four bogeys he scored in Round 1. Homa also scored two double bogeys on the front nine, one at the par-4 4th hole and one at the par-5 9th hole. At the end of 18 holes, Homa scored 7-over 79, with only one birdie on the back nine.

During his second round, Homa tried to recover and scored a total of three birdies. But he bogeyed twice while playing the back nine. He bogeyed at the par-3 13th hole before missing par again at the par-4 18th hole.

Homa had earlier missed the cut at this year's WM Phoenix Open, the Genesis Invitational, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He further channeled how he was feeling, saying:

"The way I work, I feel like I deserve to be the best player in the world at some point. I know that sounds crazy, but that's how I approach each day, is to be the best at it and I'm going the complete opposite direction…."

"It's hard to care this much about something and just not get anything out of it.. It's like you're in a very toxic relationship. I might be the toxic one, but it's still toxic."

---

How did Max Homa perform last year?

Here's a detailed look at how Max Homa performed on the PGA Tour last year:

• The Sentry: T14, 67-69-68-66, 270 (-22)
• Farmers Insurance Open: T13, 70-70-71-69, 280 (-8)
• AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: T66, 69-73-72, 214 (-2)
• WM Phoenix Open: Cut, 73-69 142 (E)
• The Genesis Invitational: T16, 73-65-70-69, 277 (-7)
• The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard: T8, 71-69-71-73, 284 (-4)
• The Players Championship: T64, 68-75-74-71, 288 (E)
• Valero Texas Open: T25, 68-74-72-70, 284 (-4)
• Masters Tournament: T3, 67-71-73-73, 284 (-4)
• RBC Heritage: T55, 71-70-66-75, 282 (-2)
• Wells Fargo Championship: T8, 69-70-72-69, 280 (-4)
• PGA Championship: T35, 68-70-69-69, 276 (-8)
• Charles Schwab Challenge: Cut, 78-69, 147 (+7)
• The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday: T22, 71-73-72-76, 292 (+4)
• Travelers Championship: T61, 70-71-70-66, 277 (-3)
• Genesis Scottish Open: T70, 67-70-73-69, 279 (-1)
• The Open: T43, 76-72-70-74, 292 (+8)
• FedEx St Jude Championship: 70, 69-78-74-70, 291 (+11)
• BMW Championship: T33, 74-75-73-67, 289 (+1)
• Procore Championship: Cut, 71-72, 143 (-1)
• Zozo Championship: T27, 73-66-67-66, 272 (-8)