In return to Valero, Max Homa shoots 68

Editor's note: This article originally ran on April 4 following the first round at the Valero Texas Open.

Last season, Max Homa only competed once in the week prior to a major championship.

This year, he plans to go 4-for-4.

Homa decided after his first major top-10 at The Open Championship last summer that he would play his way into majors moving forward, which led him to this week’s Valero Texas Open. He’ll pursue a title at TPC San Antonio in the process, and he’s off to a good start.

Homa opened the Valero in 4-under 68, closing with three birdies in his final four holes Thursday – including a 39-footer at the par-4 ninth. He’s two back of early leader Justin Lower, who carded 6-under 66 from the morning wave on his 35th birthday.

Homa’s career-best major showing to date is a T10 at The Open last summer, which came after competing at the Genesis Scottish Open the week prior (he finished T43 at the Masters, T55 at the PGA Championship and missed the cut at the U.S. Open, having not played the previous week in either of the three).

Homa, 33, decided last summer that he needed to implement a more instinct-driven approach to major-championship preparation. He’s a six-time TOUR winner but has yet to seriously contend in a major, a resume disjoint that he intends to rectify this year.

“Right after The Open last year, I kind of decided I was going to play all of the weeks before the majors,” Homa said Thursday at TPC San Antonio, where he hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation, his lone bogey coming at the par-5 18th (his ninth).

“I think when I'm at home I try to be a perfectionist and I kind of hope that carries into the next week … I think this for myself might work better where I'm learning kind of more about my golf game and what shots feel good and what don’t and leaning into that instead of trying to make them all exactly right.”

Homa has played the Genesis Scottish Open for the past two years, making it a natural runway into The Open, he said Thursday. The other two majors are preceded by Signature Events; the Wells Fargo Championship (where he’s a two-time winner) leads into the PGA Championship, and the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday precedes the U.S. Open.

That left the Valero Texas Open in the week before the Masters, also a good fit.

“Hadn’t been here in a while but it's a course I've liked,” said Homa, who last competed at TPC San Antonio in 2019. “The city and hotels are amazing, especially with the family, so it was a no-brainer to add this one and try to change up how I've kind of prepared for the majors, especially the Masters.”

This marks Homa’s fourth Valero appearance; his best finish is T42 in 2019. He entered the week at No. 39 on the season-long FedExCup standings, with four top-16 finishes in seven starts.