Homa charges up leaderboard with lowest major round of career

It looks like Max Homa can say goodbye to his early-season struggles.

Buoyed by a near-ace on the 341-yard par-4 14th at Quail Hollow, Homa fired a sizzling 7-under 64 to post his lowest career round in a major championship. The 34-year-old is now tied for third with the afternoon wave taking the course at the PGA Championship.

Homa has missed five of his first 11 cuts this season and posted just one top-25 finish after entering the campaign going through both a swing and equipment change. However, he flashed with a 12th-place showing at the Masters and brought that form to Charlotte this week.

Homa credited his recent turnaround to being more proactive with how he wants to swing, pointing to a session with his coach three weeks ago as an example.

"We were just not finding anything on this range session. Everything he says makes sense, and it's very right, but it didn't feel like me," Homa told reporters, according to ASAP Sports. "It was close to the positions, and everything (was) on what I wanted to do, but ... I just said, 'I want to try to do it this way, and just let me know if that looks OK.'"

Those adjustments were on display from the jump Friday. Starting on the 10th hole, Homa shot a blistering 6-under 30, highlighted by his incredible tee shot to 1 foot on the par-4 14th.

He finished the day first in strokes gained: off the tee for the morning wave of players and 12th in approach.

In addition to changes in his swing, Homa also attributed his uptick in play to a return to Quail Hollow, where he claimed his first PGA TOUR win in 2019.

"I think that helps a lot, especially as - as I started to feel really good, I knew I was going to come in here and swing it nicely," Homa said. "I just needed to find some comfort. So, this place does that for me."

Homa is looking for his first career major title. He should be firmly in the mix following the afternoon wave Friday.