The zen of Max Homa, and how it pushed him to the top of the Masters leaderboard

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Fourteen months ago, Max Homa became a social media sensation when he hit a poor bunker shot at the Waste Management Open and promptly threw his club down the fairway.

On Friday, a much more contemplative Homa held the clubhouse lead after two rounds of the 2024 Masters. After the club-throwing incident, Homa started journaling. He shared his entry from Thursday, before he began his fifth Masters:

“However good I am is however good I am. I don’t need to try to be better than I am.”

He was good enough to finish 1-under in Round 2 and 6-under for the tournament, tied at the top with Round 1 leader Bryson DeChambeau, the strength freak who (briefly) ripped out a signpost on No. 13 and shot 1-over with 3-D-printed clubs that weren’t approved until Monday, and 2022 champion Scottie Scheffler, who shot even par.

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Homa, 33, was internet-famous long before he won six times on the PGA Tour. He’s something of a social media genius, whose more than 650,000 followers appreciate his self-deprecation and his hilarious critiques of sadomasochistic amateurs who send him clips of their swings, which he brutally tears down.

Homa’s greatest obstacle has always been himself — his mental approach and his obsession with perfection. Maybe it’s the journaling, but for the past few months, the Kumbaya Kid has been surging. In 2023, he’d won the week before the Waste Management, then finished second at the Genesis Invitational and cracked the top-10 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and hasn’t looked back. He had eight more top-10 finishes that year, went 3-1-1 for the U.S. at the Ryder Cup, and won the Nedbank in November on the European Tour.

He has focused on “detachment from the result.” He said he might as well close his eyes after he hits. He did everything except take off his shoes, put on a blindfold, and counsel Danny Noonan to “be the ball.”

Homa might sound like Saturday Night Live character Stuart Smalley, but don’t expect him to stop seeking affirmation.

Especially after he smoked a fairway wood on the fourth-hardest hole on the course, where he made one of just five birdies in the second round.

“I hit a 7-wood on No. 4 today. That was pretty awesome,” Homa said. “So, yeah, that hole was impossible today, and somehow we made a 2.”

Somehow? He was good enough. Smart enough. And doggone it, he’s a good golfer.

Led by Bryson DeChambeau at 6-under, seven of the 13 LIV Tour golfers at the Masters either made the cut or were likely to as the day’s action finished, including 53-year-old, three-time winner Phil Mickelson (4-over) and Brooks Koepka (2-over); that pair tied for second last year. Joaquin Niemann, who made the field through a special invitation, also was at 4-over. Defending champion Jon Rahm, who left for LIV at the end of 2023, stood at 5-over. Last year, 12 of 18 LIV players made the cut.

» READ MORE: Masters leader Bryson DeChambeau remains a massively talented walking contradiction

Zach Johnson triple-bogeyed the par-3 12th hole and, as fans applauded him, muttered, “Bleep off.” He didn’t deny cursing — it was caught on tape — but he dubiously claimed he didn’t direct the curse at fans, per Golf Digest. Johnson missed the cut by a shot. … Defending champion Rahm whined about the windy conditions affecting balls on the green, but his 5-over snuck him in one below the cut line. LIV did not shine deep. Bubba Watson finished 10-over and 77th in the 89-man field, followed by Charl Schwartzel (11-over, 81st), Dustin Johnson (13-over, 85th), and Adrian Meronk (14-over, 87th). … Two-time winner José María Olazábal, 58, made the cut on the number, and 61-year-old Vijay Singh, who won in 2000, made it by two strokes. … Neal Shipley, the U.S. Amateur runner-up, was the only amateur to make the cut, at 3-over. He automatically won the low-amateur honor. … The 6-over cut line was the highest since 2017, when it also was 6-over.