As his playing partners hit, the subject turned to what he was thinking about on the course, and Homa allowed his mind to drift to what he was going to do with his young son after the round.
“I do try to lock in for the last minute or so (before hitting),” he said. “…This one will be a good, high cut and hopefully it takes two hopes before we go in the hole and we can all go crazy.”
One of the most popular voices on golf Twitter, Homa, 32, is a five-time PGA TOUR winner whose most recent victory, at the season-opening Fortinet Championship in Napa last fall, has him tied for fourth in the FedExCup. He was his usual feisty self when he played Torrey South.
His second shot, from the middle of the fairway, was on the green but came up short.
“I didn’t hit it solid, like I told you, and I decided to float it,” he said.
“You decided to be as far away from (CBS on-course reporter) Colt Knost as possible,” quipped CBS’ Frank Nobilo. Homa replied bluntly, “It’s usually a minor goal.”
Asked about his success playing in California, Homa said, “There’s something about the air in California for us SoCal boys, and those of us who went to school out here.”
Although his second shot presumably found one of the bunkers in front of the green, Homa was so buried in the rough that he called a Rules Official to see if the ball was embedded. It was deemed so, which allowed him to remove it and place it on top of the grass.
“We’ve got the backstop,” he said, “…I’m just going to shake life off my shoulders; I just went hard at this.” He turned up 18 feet past the pin. “I don’t hate it. It’s at the right level.”
CBS thanked him and let him go, and Homa two-putted for par. He was back five more.
Homa went on to card a third round, 1-under 71. He enters the final round in a tie for fourth, five shots behind Sam Ryder.
His takeaway from the mic’d-up experience was positive, and he looks forward to the concept’s evolution.
“This is an entertainment product, and that means we have to entertain,” Homa said after the third round. “There were a few bumps but overall I was pretty happy with it. I hope the fans at home liked it and I hope we can do something like that, if not the same thing, going forward.”
