Max Homa hopes Colonial's $20M renovation doesn't wreck 'cool vibe'
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[May 24, 2023]
Max Homa trusts the architects who are in charge of the
Colonial Country Club's $20 million renovation, but he has one
message for them.
Don't mess too much with a great thing.
The Colonial is the longest-standing non-major venue on the PGA
Tour, but a long-planned major renovation will begin shortly after
the final putt drops at the Charles Schwab Challenge on Sunday.
Homa is one of eight top-20 players who made the trek from last
week's PGA Championship in Rochester, N.Y. to Fort Worth, Texas
because of his fondness for Colonial. Dubbed "Hogan's Alley" for Ben
Hogan, who won four of the first seven editions of the event,
Colonial is steeped in golf history.
"Mr. Hogan has his clubs here. He made this place. Them two are
synonymous, and that's special," Homa said Tuesday. "Obviously we
come to a lot of pretty amazing places out here, and we're lucky to
play some tremendous golf courses, but you add some of the history
to it, it makes it even more special.
"It's always a cool vibe here. The city turns out really nicely for
it. It has some meaning to the area, which is cool."
Homa said he doesn't know much about the renovation plans, but that
it's "scary" to see a course with a great layout undergo significant
changes and that "it gets you a little anxious for it."
"When you come to a golf course you like and respect how it's laid
out, that adds to, I think, a lot of people's love for this place,"
he said. "It's nice to see that it stands the test of time, and it's
done such a good job of being a mainstay on this tour.
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"I'm sure they'll make some great decisions. But I
do think that they don't need to do much at all to this place. If
you want to re-grass it, that's one thing, but the holes themselves
are awesome."
Homa said that he's also looking forward to a more laid-back week
after grinding for four days just to tie for 55th at Oak Hill. He
played the week after a T43 at the Masters, but Homa admitted he
didn't want to be at Hilton Head and used the extra time after
missing the cut to work on his game.
That work led to a T8 in his only other start between the year's
first two majors. Homa, who has a pair of victories this season,
enters the week ranked seventh in the world and is one of the
pre-tournament favorites.
"Last week I learned so much about what I need to improve on, not
just physically, but mentally," he said. "I think this (week)
provides a great opportunity to work on those things.
"Everything's under such a microscope at a major for yourself that
you see where you got exposed, and you can put that to good use
immediately, having this event for me right after that."
--Field Level Media
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