Max Homa runs fast, he says. Just not that fast. Luckily for him, his Olympic hopes rest on his ability to hit a golf ball.
Time, though, is running out for Homa to represent his country in Paris later this year.
Homa arrives at Valhalla for this week’s PGA Championship ranked ninth in the Official World Golf Ranking. That puts him a spot back of Patrick Cantlay for the fourth and final place on Team USA for the Aug. 1-4 men’s golf competition at Le Golf National in Paris.
Countries can have as many as four competitors, provided they are ranked in the top 15 in the world rankings. The American race, which, like the rosters for all countries, concludes following the U.S. Open on June 17, features eight players currently ranked inside that number.
“It’s funny, last year when I kind of realized I had had a pretty decent chance, I kind of laughed it off and just, I never dreamt of, you know, playing, being an Olympian,” Homa said Tuesday. “I’m probably faster than most people out here but not much faster than anybody else. So, it kind of was like, yeah, I’m not going to make it a massive goal, but it would have been cool. Then as we’ve gotten closer, it’s become a goal.”
Homa said qualifying is now on the “tip of my mind,” even coming up in conversation at the breakfast table that morning.
“As a golfer, I don’t think the Olympics ever feels like a real thing we’re going to do,” Homa added, “and then you get a chance, and now I would really like to be a part of that. … It’s actually kind of like a win-win again because never really imagined myself doing that, so if I don’t get it, it wouldn’t hurt quite as bad, but for sure it would be an amazing experience and something I’m very, very much gunning for over the next few golf tournaments.”
If qualifying ended today, Cantlay would be joined by teammates world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, No. 3 Xander Schauffele (the reigning gold medalist) and No. 4 Wyndham Clark.
“I definitely plan on playing,” Scheffler said Tuesday. “I think becoming an Olympian would be a dream come true, for sure. Be a nice little thing to be able to trash talk to my buddies about when they say golfers aren’t athletes. I can claim I’m an Olympian. I think it’s definitely a tournament that has been on my schedule, and I’ll definitely be playing there if I’m able.”
Other close races for a final spot — as the Olympic rankings mirror the OWGR — include South Korea (No. 32 Sungjae Im is six spots back of Tom Kim), Canada (No. 51 Adam Hadwin is two spots back of Corey Conners while three others are within 34 spots) and then the last overall spot in (China’s Marty Dou, at No. 330, has a 10-spot advantage of Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach).
• Click here for Olympic men’s golf ranking and reallocation reserve list
