Max Homa didn’t win the Masters, but some free Chick-Fil-A was his consolation prize

Last week’s Masters represented Max Homa’s best chance to win his first major. Homa, who had just one top-10 in a major before last week, started the final round in third place, just two shots off Scottie Scheffler’s lead.

Homa was part of a four-way tie for the lead after he birdied the eighth hole, and he continued to put pressure on Scheffler with a birdie at the 10th hole. Homa’s chances all but ended when his tee shot on the 12th hole ricocheted into the bushes behind the 12th green, resulting in a double-bogey. Homa shot 73 on that Sunday to finish third, seven shots behind Scheffler.

“I handled my nerve really well,” Homa said Wednesday in his pre-tournament press conference at the RBC Heritage. “I dealt with a lot of expectations and didn't let that affect my golf game too much. I had never been in a position of being in contention going into a Sunday -- a Saturday, any of those days really. It was fun to wake up for a couple days and think, there's a pretty decent chance I might be wearing a green jacket on Sunday and to still excel and feel good about my golf.

“What a memory. If I never play another golf tournament, it's pretty cool to have that seared into my brain.”

Homa didn’t leave town with a green jacket, but he did have a consolation prize in the form of some free Chick-Fil-A. He stopped at the popular fast-food chain on his way out of town, and when a woman recognized Homa in the drive-thru line, she decided to pay for his food.

“She said that her son is 3 or 4 and I'm his favorite golfer, so it was pretty cool,” Homa said Wednesday. “I don't know, those kinds of things I still pinch myself. … She paid for it, I rolled my window down, we chatted for a minute or so, and then I ate it.

“It was kind. I just pinch myself at times with the kindness people have given me just because I play some golf. I feel very fortunate for that.”