Max Homa did something he has never done before on day one of the John Deere Classic
Homa has had a 2025 to forget so far. After a successful 2023 saw him reach a career-high ranking of number five in the world, he has now fallen to 99th in the world rankings and 122nd in the FedEx Cup.
He has only one top-25 finish this year, incredibly that was at the Masters won by Rory McIlroy, and Homa has missed seven cuts in 16 starts on the PGA Tour.
But he’s shown flashes of life, and broke his own record at the John Deere Classic.
Max Homa shoots a career-best opening round at the John Deere Classic
Homa caught fire on Thursday of the John Deere, going off to shoot an eight under par 63. Not only was that his lowest score of 2025, it was the lowest opening round of his entire career.
His driver, which Homa had struggled for consistency with all year, found the fairway 10 out of 14 times. He made 14 out of 18 greens in regulation, and his putter was red hot gaining three strokes on the field on the greens.
That led to a nine birdie round, making only one bogey on the day on the last hole – the par four ninth.
It’s not definitive enough to say that Homa has found form to start July, but it’s certainly a promising sign ahead of this month’s Open Championship.
Max Homa’s 63 was not enough for the tournament lead
As impressive as Homa was in his round, it still wasn’t enough to give him the lead of the tournament after one day. That honour went to Doug Ghim who shot 62.
Ghim had a clean card with no bogeys, and holed out for an eagle on the sixth. Incredibly, Ghim lost strokes on the field with his putting, a testament to his elite ball-striking throughout the round. It was an efficient day for him, and he’ll hope to maintain that while his flatstick warms up.
Further down the scoreboard, Michael Kim, winner in 2018, continued his good run with a 64, two behind the lead, and Rickie Fowler is in the mix at six under. He’s looking for valuable FedEx Cup points, as he’s currently at 72 in the standings.