When Tiger Woods withdrew from the Safeway Open at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, Calif., that meant that Max Homa, as first alternate, got into the field for the 2016-17 PGA Tour opener that starts on Thursday.
The 25-year-old Homa, who played not far away at the University of California in Berkeley, recently earned his PGA Tour card by finishing in the top 25 of the Web.com Tour money list.
Homa expressed his thanks on Twitter: “Thanks Tiger. Next time we hang out, dinner’s on me. Get back out here soon plz. Sincerely, Your biggest fan.”
The last time Homa played in a PGA Tour event was the 2015 Wyndham Championship, where he missed the cut. Coincidentally, that also was the last time Woods played ion any tournament, tying for 10th before missing the last 14 months following two back procedures.
Homa lives in Santa Clarita and graduated from Valencia High before going to Cal, where he captured the 2013 NCAA Championship. He has won twice on the Web.com Tour, in the 2014 BMW Charity Pro-Am and the Rust-Oleum Championship earlier this year.
His best result in a PGA Tour event was a tie for sixth in the 2015 Sony Open in Hawaii.
