Q. Pretty routine birdieing the last two here, right?
MAX HOMA: Yeah, helps when you hit those two drives I did. So, I mean, I had pitching wedge into 18, which doesn't happen often. I had 9-iron into 17, so that I just think helps a lot. The challenge this week, I think is the rough is way thicker than normal, and way denser especially. The greens are much softer than normal, so if you do hit the fairways I feel like you can make some birdies. But the moment you get off you're going to have a hard time.
Q. What kind of game did you feel like you were bringing to the tournament this week, and how did you execute that?
MAX HOMA: Yeah, I felt like I had -- my game feels about as good as it has in a very, very long time, and I knew that I think that brought some peace, which was nice, not feeling like I needed to do much. Then, yeah, you get off to a good start like that and it just kind of calms some of the nerves. But, yeah, I just, everything's felt really good, short game's felt good, putting's felt great, and ball striking feels really good. So I didn't feel uncomfortable pretty much the whole day so that was nice.
Q. Did you take something away from playing well on a really difficult test as opposed to if you shot a few strokes lower somewhere where it wasn't thick rough and all the challenges that you have here?
MAX HOMA: Yeah, I guess maybe a different way to answer here is that I don't necessarily just take away from score. I think you can have feel bad about your game and shoot, you know, 2-under and everyone out there around you is like, you know, applauding that, and you know it doesn't feel right. So I think I just took that, like my game feels really good, and it has for a few weeks, and the score actually matched it. So I would look at it more like that. Everything felt like it did, or, sorry, everything just felt kind of -- the game felt well rounded and nothing stuck out as something I needed to manage or fix.
Q. Along those same lines, you seem more confident yesterday heading into today. Now that you have played a pretty good round of golf, does that justify the confidence that you brought here going into this week?
MAX HOMA: Yeah, I've been trying not to worry so much about justifying it, but it does feel nice to -- you know, I told my coach last night, this is the best my swing has felt in a really long time. Then the whole game kind of felt like that. So I just pointed it out, and I guess I didn't need it to, I didn't need to shoot a low number to validate that, but I just, it just feels nice. Because it really does -- I was texting him, We weren't BS'ing about it, it just felt good, looked good, felt like I could hit the shots I wanted to hit. So, yeah, I guess it's not a justification, I guess, but you still want to get something out of it when it feels that good. Because this game, I mean, there's so few chances for most of us to play a stellar round of golf, so you would like it when it feels good to go out there and actually post a number.
Q. What was the last time before the last couple weeks that you felt at peace with your game?
MAX HOMA: Probably awhile. I think that run at the playoffs right before the Ryder Cup, it just felt like I could do a lot with the golf ball. Then kind of since then it was, I just felt like I was always fighting something. Then it just starts to get tiring. So I feel like, yeah, maybe a little bit at the PGA, a lot more at Philly Cricket, and then the most here of just -- it just felt like I could go out there and see what I wanted to do. And I didn't always have to hit the hardest shot, I knew that there was a shot I had up my sleeve that was going to feel easy and predictable. So it's been awhile.
Q. You can -- obviously there's a chance you can avoid it, but you're entered in U.S. Open qualifying, and just wondering if that was a bit of an eye opener even having to enter after having not had to deal with that for several years.
MAX HOMA: I don't think there's another way, I think I have to play no matter what, but maybe you guys have a different avenue.
Q. Well, there's the Top-60.
MAX HOMA: In the world?
Q. The week --
MAX HOMA: The week before? Yeah, I mean, was it an eye opener? I guess it wasn't an eye opener, it was just a bummer. Just because you don't start the year whatever I was in the world and think you're going to fall that far. But just, that's golf, so you just keep plugging along. I haven't -- I worried about it probably too much early in the skid, and then stopped worrying about it late. So I'll play some other tournaments to kind of make up for it. I never play well in the U.S. Open anyway, so at that point I probably would have missed the cut. So, if I don't get in it's all good. I just wanted to play because now that I'm a dad I would like to win or something on a Father's Day. But if not I'll just hang out with my son and it will be a great day.
Q. You're planning to still do it Monday?
MAX HOMA: Oh, yeah, I'll be there Monday.
Q. Are you playing next week?
MAX HOMA: Yeah, I'm playing next week.
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