Golf’s longest day has all but come to a close, and PGA Tour winners discovered they were not above the heartbreak of US Open qualifying.
Neither Tony Finau nor Max Homa, who have 12 PGA Tour wins between them, will be teeing off at Shinnecock Hills after they both failed to make it through US Open qualifying.
Both players showed immense promise early in their careers, and both have seriously struggled with form of late. This is just the latest sign that they are no longer the elite versions of themselves who won multiple times on the PGA Tour.
Max Homa’s heartbreaking near-miss in US Open qualifying
Homa had a particularly heartbreaking near-miss, coming centimeters from qualification. He was playing in an eight-man playoff for a spot at the U.S. Open.
Playing at the Canadian site, Homa had a 12-foot putt to make it through to the second playoff hole, but it painstakingly lipped out to leave him out of the field for the first time at a major championship this year.
Homa showed signs of getting back to his best this year, finishing in the top 10 at The Masters to secure his spot at Augusta in 2026. But he missed the cut with a poor showing at the PGA Championship, and he won’t even tee it up at Shinnecock.
It’s a fall from grace for the former world number five.
Tony Finau’s reaction to failing to qualify for the US Open
He wasn’t the only one to endure a disappointing day. Finau didn’t come as close as Homa to qualifying for Shinnecock.
Finau attempted to make it to the US Open via qualifying at Springfield Country Club, and he missed out on qualification by two strokes. He finished his second round at five-under par, not good enough for any of the five qualifying spots.
Speaking after his round, Finau was determined to qualify for the final major of the year, The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. He said, “I can’t go 0 for 4. Heading to Canada now. Play to win.”
Finau didn’t make it to The Masters or the PGA Championship, so he heads to this week’s Canadian Open looking to qualify for The Open with a win.
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