‘The Internet Probably Makes It Seem Worse Than It Really Is’ – Max Homa Defends State Of Men’s Elite Game
The American doesn’t sense the ongoing fractures at the top of the men’s game are causing irreparable harm
For over two years, the fractures at the top of the men’s game have dominated the headlines almost as much as events on the course.
While negotiations are ongoing between the PGA Tour and Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) behind LIV Golf to plot a route for a harmonious future between the two circuits, there is still no word on when - or even if - it will happen, almost a year after they came to the table.
In recent months, players including Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau have expressed concerns that the impasse is beginning to turn fans away, while it's never far from the conversation on social media.
Max Homa is one of 156 players in the field for this week’s second Major of the year, the PGA Championship - one of the few events where PGA Tour players and LIV golfers come together. However, he’s not convinced the game is suffering as much as others claim.
Ahead of the Valhalla tournament, he said: “I do feel like the internet probably makes it seem worse than it really is. It's a very small community, and they're incredibly loud. So I think if you spend a lot of time on the internet, it does feel like professional golf is crumbling.”
Homa then cited recent tournaments that indicate the men’s elite game is thriving. “It's tough to decipher, because when we're on the grounds of events, it's amazing,” he said. “Last week at Quail Hollow was awesome. Felt no different at Bay Hill. Felt no different... The Players. Felt no different."
Still, he was reluctant to dismiss the concerns of those with another opinion. He continued: “It's odd. It doesn't feel like it's dying, yet you hear a lot of very valid complaints on the internet. So I think it's been, it's very troubling.”
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He also acknowledged that the continuing emphasis on the business side of the game is unhealthy for fans. “I don't like where it's going, he said. “It's got to be exhausting to be a casual golf fan at this point in time. I don't know why you would want to hear about the business side of this game. As a fan of other sports, I do not care about the business side of what the Lakers and Dodgers are doing.”
The divide has been back in the news in recent days, with McIlroy last week ruling out a return to the PGA Tour board. That was followed by the news that one of the senior figures involved in bringing the PGA Tour and PIF to the table, Jimmy Dunne, has resigned from the PGA Tour board, describing his role as “utterly superfluous.”
Homa admitted that, for the good of the game, stories of that nature need to become background issues sooner rather than later. He added: “I hope at some point soon we can just get back to entertaining people and playing golf and seeing who shoots the lowest score and not talking about what our Player Advisory Council is going to do and who - the fans of golf should not know who is on the board.
“Men's professional golf might be in a weird spot, so hopefully we can continue to get more people to play golf and then once everybody can get this thing figured out hopefully we get those people playing golf to also enjoy watching a little bit of golf. We have a lot going on here, but hopefully at some point everybody can find the plot again.”
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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