Homa named to Walker Cup team

September 03, 2013

SCGA member Max Homa has been named to the 2013 USA Walker Cup Team, the USGA announced Wednesday morning. The 44th Walker Cup Match against Great Britain and Ireland will be played Sept. 7-8 at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton, NY. Homa will be one of 10 amateur golfers on the team.

"To be honest, I got pretty emotional when I got the call," said Homa. "This is a very big deal for me. I just felt like a lot of memories of the hard work and the struggle over whether or not I wanted to try and make it as a golfer came rushing over me and it made me really proud."

The honor continues an incredible year for Homa, who won the Pac-12 Conference Championship in early May and was the individual medalist at the NCAA Men's Division I Championship shortly after to close out his career at the University of California, Berkeley. In his senior season, he captained a Bears team that won 11 tournaments. The Valencia CC member was named a first-team All-American, and in June he survived a two-hole playoff at sectional qualifying to make the field for the 2013 U.S. Open.

"It's been crazy, it's like every day a new good piece of news comes," said Homa. "The last couple months have been special for me because I went through some pretty low times in golf, as I'm sure many people have, and I kept telling myself to keep pushing through. So many great people in my life have helped me get through them, so to enjoy all this with them is great for me."

Homa is expected to turn pro after the Walker Cup, having told the SCGA last month that he was waiting to hear if he had made the team to finalize his schedule and planning.

"I've always been a team guy, and golf is really not a team sport, so to be able to play on a team and represent my country is so special and something you don't get to do too often. And to be associated with this tournament specifically is so big. It's an accomplishment I've always really dreamed of."

Others added to the team include former SCGA member and Cal Bear teammate Michael Kim along with Patrick Rodgers, Justin Thomas and Cory Whitsett. The final five players will be named later this summer following the 2013 U.S. Amateur.

"I've always considered Michael to be like a little brother, and we've joked in the past about playing a Walker Cup together and having that chance to high-five and have that experience. When we talked about it it felt crazy, but at the same time like it could be a possibility. It's unbelievable to have that chance now."

The prestigious Walker Cup Match is a biennial 10-man amateur team competition between the USA and a team composed of players from Great Britain and Ireland. It is played over two days with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes (alternate-shot) matches. The USA leads the overall series 34-8-1, and has not lost on American soil since the 2001 Match at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga.



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