Not the best look imaginable.
Max Homa He threw his golf club in frustration during the final round of the RBC Heritage on Sunday, and it was a difficult 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 tee shot and was left in a very difficult position in a vacant area among the trees at Harbor Town. After failing to make the contact he wanted with a punch in an attempt to get out of trouble, Homa threw his iron to the ground a few feet in front of him, and the iron eventually made contact with a tree.
With his name far down the rankings and not playing at his level, Homa let his emotions get the best of him and let out some frustrations as he threw his stick. These things happen, even for a player who has won half a dozen times on Tour, but the moment when Homa tosses the club makes the whole scenario a bit hypocritical.
During his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday, Homa was asked about the Masters code of conduct that was put to the test at Augusta National this past weekend, after Sergio García’s tantrum on the second hole of the final round.
READ: Sergio García only took two days to apologize after damaging teebox during Masters tantrum
Garcia damaged the tee box on the hole before breaking his driver after hitting it against a nearby cooler. The chairman of Augusta National’s competition committee reportedly spoke to Garcia on the fourth tee about his outburst.
While Homa did not specifically mention Garcia by name during his comments on the code of conduct issue, it doesn’t take much to read between the lines.
“I say a lot of bad words,” Homa said. “I try really hard not to do it when a kid can hear. So I think there’s a bit of, hey, don’t say it in front of the wrong person, like being a little bit aware of your surroundings. I’m not saying I’ve never done it. I don’t like it when people break clubs. I don’t like it when people hit the golf course because we take care of that, and I think breaking clubs makes us look very, very spoiled.
“I try my best not to do it, and when it happens, as far as hitting a tee box, I’m very angry with myself because we’re very fortunate to play this game where we do, and I think it’s a bad image. But again, this is a very frustrating game, and it happens. I don’t know where I would draw that line exactly, but I definitely think hitting a golf course would probably be it, because the rest of us have to play it.”
What stands out is his note about looking “spoiled.”
Homa didn’t damage a tee box with his club swing Sunday, or even a part of the golf course that another player might see during Sunday’s action, but it’s still not the best look given his comments just days earlier.
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