Not the best look imaginable.
Max Homa launched his golf club in frustration during the final round of the RBC Heritage on Sunday and it was a tough scene for the six-time PGA Tour winner for more reasons than one.
Homa, who began the final round 18 shots behind leader Matt Fitzpatrick, hit a wayward opening shot and was left in a very tough position in a waste area among the trees at Harbor Town. After not making the contact he wanted on a putt in an attempt to escape the trouble, Homa threw his iron into the ground a few feet in front of him, where the iron eventually made contact with a tree.
With her name far down the rankings and not playing up to her standard, Homa let her emotions take over and vented some frustrations by throwing her club. These things happen, even to a player who has won half a dozen times on Tour, but the timing of Homa’s club throw makes the whole scenario a bit hypocritical.
During his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday, Homa was asked about the Masters’ code of conduct, which was tested at Augusta National over the past weekend, after Sergio Garcia’s tantrum on the second hole in the last round.
READ: It only took Sergio Garcia two days to apologize after damaging the tee box during the Masters Temper tantrum
Garcia damaged the tee box on the hole before breaking his driver after smashing it onto a nearby tee. The chairman of the competition committee at Augusta National reportedly spoke to Garcia on the fourth tee box about his outburst.
While Homa did not specifically mention Garcia by name during his remarks on the code of conduct topic, it doesn’t take much to read between the lines.
“I say a lot of bad words,” Homa said. “I try very hard not to do it when a kid can hear. So I think there’s some, hey, don’t say it in front of the wrong person, like being a little aware of your surroundings. I’m not saying I’ve never done that. I don’t like it when people break clubs. I don’t like it when people hit the golf course because we handle it, and I think we’re very spoiled.
“I try my absolute best not to do that, and when it happens, as far as slamming a tee box, I’m very upset with myself because we’re very fortunate to play this game where we do, and I think it’s a bad look. But again, it’s a very frustrating game and it happens. I don’t know where I would draw that line exactly, but I definitely think it would be a golf course that we would play.”
It’s his note about looking “spoiled” that stands out.
Homa didn’t damage a tee box with his club swing on Sunday, or even a part of the golf course that another player could see during Sunday’s action, but it’s still not the best look, given his comments just a few days earlier.
