Max brings it Homa

Max Homa won The Genesis Invitational on Sunday in a dramatic sudden-death playoff at The Riviera Country Club to bring the tournament trophy home to Los Angeles. Homa, who grew up in Los Angeles County, earned the victory after a long day of golf on Sunday. With five holes remaining to finish the third round, Homa entered the final round two strokes off the lead. But 23 holes wasn’t enough for Homa to earn his second PGA TOUR victory. After a birdie on 17 for a share of the lead, Homa missed his birdie putt on 18 to enter a playoff with Tony Finau. However, Homa overcame the miss with two pars in the playoff to win The Genesis Invitational, a lifelong dream come true.

Homa, the Valencia, CA native, grew up playing golf on his local public course, Vista Valencia. He also was a regular attendee of the PGA TOUR’s annual stop at Riviera as a kid. The local golf influence goes beyond Valencia and the Pacific Palisades to Cypress, CA.

“I don’t know if I could ever do anything cooler in golf than this,” Homa said after his win. “Tiger Woods is handing us a trophy, that’s a pretty crazy thought. We grew up idolizing him, idolizing Riviera Country Club, idolizing the golf tournament.”

Homa not only is a fan of LA’s most famous golfer, but he is also a fan of the LA sports scene, especially the Lakers and Dodgers. With his win at The Genesis Invitational, 2020-21 continues to be the year of titles for LA.

“It’s truly a dream come true,” he said. “My dad’s been bringing me here since I was basically a baby. Yeah, I think 8-year-old Max would be pretty darn proud.”