Max Homa finding groove, back in contention at Quail Hollow - ESPN

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Over the last 12 months, Max Homa has changed nearly everything he could about his golfing life.

As he walks the fairways at Quail Hollow Country Club this week — a venue where he won the Wells Fargo Invitational in 2019 — his longtime friend and caddie Joe Greiner is no longer by his side. His new caddie, Bill Harke, is now carrying his bag, one that is full of brand-new golf clubs after Homa switched equipment and apparel sponsors in the offseason. Homa also swapped swing coaches, going from Mark Blackburn to John Scott Rattan.

«I wouldn't advise switching your clubs and your coach at the same time, or your golf swing,» Homa said Friday. «But I did that.»

All these changes have coincided with one of the worst stretches of Homa's career. Since he finished eighth at last year's Masters, Homa has been in a stark decline, missing five straight cuts this season and searching for a swing that could get him back to form.

«I've hit a lot of golf balls in the last seven months, like an absurd amount of golf balls,» Homa said. «It's been hard. I feel like I was playing with a foreign swing at times.»

Through it all, Homa has remained adamant that he's playing better than his scores are reflecting and on Friday in the second round of the PGA Championship, Homa found his best round since the 2023 BMW Championship and his lowest round at a major, shooting a 7-under 64 to vault himself into contention.

This did not entirely come out of nowhere. Homa once again looked comfortable at Augusta this year, where he finished in a tie for 12th, but he did follow it up by beating only one golfer in a 70-man field at the RBC Heritage. Last week at the Truist Championship, Homa said he played as good as he has in recent