Max Homa carried his own bag at U.S. Open qualifying.
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For one PGA Tour star, U.S. Open final qualifying earned its title as the “longest day in golf” the hard way.
Max Homa, the six-time PGA Tour winner, carried his bag for two full rounds at Kinsale Golf Club in Ohio on Monday afternoon after a surprise split from new caddie Bill Harke over the weekend.
News of the Harke split was first reported by the Associated Press‘s Doug Ferguson, who was on-hand at the Kinsale qualifier, which is annually a hotbed for PGA Tour pros fresh off the Memorial Tournament.
“I’m much rather talk about the golf instead of all the questions about the caddie,” Homa told Ferguson on Monday. “I’m good. Just hoofed it 36.”
Though Homa elected not to speak about the situation, the AP cited a source who said Harke “lost his job.” Homa, 34, and Harke had been paired together for less than two months — a stretch that featured some positive signs for Homa’s game after five straight missed cuts to start the season.
Without a caddie, Homa walked with his clubs on his back. He played well in the qualifier, shooting five under across his two rounds — though a three-putt par on the 36th hole dropped him from the U.S. Open field to a five-way playoff for the final spot at Oakmont. He lost the playoff to Cameron Young, then lost the ensuing playoff for the two alternate spots to Chase Johnson and Eric Cole, pushing his Monday total to 38 holes played.
It has been that kind of year for Homa, who has changed his coach, swing, caddie and gear since a career-best solo third finish at the 2024 Masters. The changes have yielded a few moments of brilliance — including a T12 at the Masters and a Friday 64 at the PGA to briefly surge into contention — but also many moments of heartbreak, like Monday’s finish.
“It seems to be better than when someone is standing next to me for some reason,” Homa told the AP. “I might need to walk by myself more. Maybe I just looked at it as a nice, peaceful walk. Probably got to battle some demons and have no one to lean on. Maybe that helps a little bit. There’s no one … everything is me. The battle helped that a little bit.”
Homa found Harke just days before the Masters, after a shocking split from longtime caddie (and best friend) Joe Greiner. At the PGA Championship, Homa hinted that the decision to split was Greiner’s.
“I always thought I’d end my career when I’m 60 and Joe’s 65, somehow still looping,” Homa said. “Hopefully he was going to go the Fluff route and caddie forever. So I never thought about [splitting].”
Still, Homa expressed optimism for his new partner and his grasp on the “psychology of golf.” Harke came to Homa on a recommendation from caddie legend Bones Mackay, who called Harke “underrated.”
“Bill has been awesome,” Homa said at the PGA. “It’s really hard to change caddies. I was talking to my wife about that last night. You’re in like a full relationship day one. You’re out there with him, first day is probably eight hours. It’s not exactly a normal first date.”
But not all relationships work out. Homa and Harke will head their separate ways as the sport reaches the back-half of the 2025 major championship season. Homa will hope to find some of the spark that has highlighted his last three years on the PGA Tour — a tenure featuring a handful of wins and a pair of dominant performances on the U.S. Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams.
He will have the opportunity to get started on the path back quickly — he is in the field for this week’s RBC Canadian Open, which will get underway from TPC Toronto on Thursday morning.
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James Colgan is a news and features editor at GOLF, writing stories for the website and magazine. He manages the Hot Mic, GOLF’s media vertical, and utilizes his on-camera experience across the brand’s platforms. Prior to joining GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse University, during which time he was a caddie scholarship recipient (and astute looper) on Long Island, where he is from. He can be reached at james.colgan@golf.com.
