As recently as 2017, Homa was ranked outside of the top 1,000 golfers in the world and he began this year ranked #836, which makes his 3 shot victory at Quail Hollow so shocking. He finished Saturday’s round tied for the lead with Rory Mcilroy and Justin Rose not far behind him. Going into the final round it must be hard knowing the world’s #1 ranked player (Rose) is right behind you. Rather than hoping for Rose to fall down a stairwell and withdraw from the tournament, Homa kept it together and credits his attitude as one of the reasons he was able to finish strong on Sunday and win the tournament.
"I've grown up a lot. My attitude is awesome nowadays. I don't really get too down on myself. I have an awesome, awesome caddie [Joe Greiner] who doesn't let me. If I'm quiet, he yells at me and tells me quiet golfers are usually very mean to themselves. So, we have a good thing going.''
This is the kind of underdog we like to root for when we watch tour events, and it reminds us of the importance of playing golf with the right mindset.