Refreshed Max Homa ready to rebuild momentum at ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

Max Homa has never really been one to mince words. That’s partially – coupled with his quick wit – why he’s such a tremendous follow on social media.

But after a down year, stats and results-wise, Homa was equally as quick to describe his 2024 campaign.

“I mean, I played terribly,” Homa said when asked to assess the year that was.

He’s hoping a return to the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP and a refreshed effort on his swing will be just the springboard he needs for next season.

“I am excited for 2025 in that a lot of things I wasn't particularly good at to start '24 I did become quite good at," Homa said. "So, with another couple months of work and being able to hone in the things I didn't do well in the past season, you know, I still grew in areas. Just you're going to need to do a good job of taking what you did improve on and put that to good use for the next season when you do play better in the areas you struggled in.

“I'm excited for that. I'm excited for the things I've gotten better at and I'm just going to continue to work on the things I struggled with last year.”

Homa said at the Presidents Cup that he had split with swing coach Mark Blackburn after his last-place finish at the first FedExCup Playoffs event. He recorded just three top-10 results this season and was sitting 120th on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Total.

Homa said, where there was an improvement was with his short game. With his trademark wit, Homa admitted a benefit of missing as many greens as he did (he was 157th on TOUR in Greens in Regulation) was that he got to chip a lot. So that part of his game got better.

“I felt like I improved a lot on that again this season, so that was fun," Homa said. "Just things like that, the things that probably you don't see much of, but like I know and feel. A lot of things more internally I feel like I really grew with this year."

The six-time TOUR winner said in Japan that he has had “some help along the way” but has been happy to try to figure out his swing on his own a bit more. He admitted he’s come to ACCORDIA GOLF Narashino Country Club “a little rusty” after taking some time off after the Presidents Cup but says his swing “feels OK.”

Homa hasn’t teed it up in Japan since the inaugural ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in 2019, where he finished 46th. He had a solid third round, firing a tidy 4-under 66. One thing he noticed was how many fans – and enthusiastic fans – were already milling about, even on a rain-soaked Tuesday.

And although it hasn’t been the best of years for Homa, in his own words, he’s ready to give them something to cheer about this week.

“It was a frustrating year, but it doesn't mean that that's always going to be a net negative,” Homa said.