Max Homa stood on the par-3 twelfth tee on the Gary Participant Nation Membership in South Africa, sitting at 8-under par for the championship. He had dealt with the windy circumstances effectively thus far, making three birdies and just one bogey over his first 11 holes. He additionally held a two-shot lead on the Nedbank Golf Problem.
However he flared his strategy to the proper of the twelfth inexperienced, and his ball got here to relaxation in a thick, gnarly lie. A bogey quickly adopted, however the worst was but to return.
4 holes later, on the different par-3 on the again 9, the sixteenth, Homa had a horrible miss off the tee as soon as extra. He missed the inexperienced by 30 yards to the left this time, partially due to the wind but in addition as a result of it was a poor swing. Even the most effective gamers on this planet encounter these every so often.
Homa then made a multitude of issues from there. His pitch shot from means left of the inexperienced scooted by way of the placing floor, settling within the tough on the opposite aspect. He hit a poor chip for his third shot and missed a five-footer for bogey on the low aspect to card a double.
The troubles didn’t cease there, nonetheless.
After discovering the golf green on the quirky par-4 seventeenth, which encompasses a quasi-peninsula inexperienced with water brief and all alongside its left aspect, Homa plunked his strategy off a rock in entrance of the inexperienced. His ball bounced into the penalty space, leaving him to play his fourth shot from in entrance of the inexperienced. One other skimpy chip adopted, and Homa did not rise up and down for a bogey-five.
Inside minutes, Homa dropped from 8-under again to 3-under for the championship. He now trails Frenchman Julian Guerrier, who gained the Andalucía Masters earlier this fall in a nine-hole playoff, by two photographs on the halfway level.
Homa’s not out of it by any means, but when he needs to defend his title, he has some stuff to scrub up over the ultimate 36 holes.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By means of. Remember to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You may observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.