Hometown Boys Max Homa & Joe Greiner… Bring Home First Place in the Genesis Invitational

The Genesis Invitational is a golf tournament that has been on the PGA Tour* since 1926 and has been said to be a defining point for many golf legends like “The Golden Bear” Jack Nicklaus who won 117 tournaments in his career and Tiger Woods who is considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. For the past 95 years, this longstanding event has become a tradition and seen many major moments in golf history like when Tom Watson defeated Johnny Miller in one of the greatest comeback victories. Recently, two of our hometown boys, Max Homa, player, and Joe Greiner, caddie, have used their years of friendship and skill for the sport to place first in the tournament.
In golf, the player-caddie dynamic is very important, the caddie is not just someone lugging a bag around or someone with intense knowledge of the course at hand. What makes this professional relationship so important, is the unspoken bond that allows the caddie to understand the players quirks and strengths while finding ways to better the golfers chances for success. For Joe, the longevity of his friendship with Max, makes it a lot easier for him to read and figure out just the right thing to say to lift Max up. They have been friends since they were six years old, both fondly remember playing the courses here in Valencia where they honed their skills as golfers. Joe has the course record at the par-3 golf course at the club, they played as children, which he jokingly reminds Max about all the time. Although in their teen years they went on to pursue other hobbies they always had golf to bring them back together.
Both Max and Joe are quite accomplished as golfers prior to this win. Max, graduated from Valencia High School and went on to play in college for the University of California-Berkley, he was a first-team All-American in his senior year and Cal’s first individual champion at the 2013 NCAA Championship. He also placed in top ten for the Match.com Tour in 2013 which was also one of the first times Joe worked as his caddie. With the history between them, it’s not surprising the complete trust in each other on the course. Joe played throughout high school and during college for College of the Canyons where he was invited to play a mini tour. Prior to Max, Joe worked with Kevin Chappell during the 2017 Valero Texas Open, and they also worked together at the 2017 Presidents Cup until Kevin was injured and underwent surgery back in November 2018. With Joe, Chappell saw a successful season with wins totaling just over $4 million.
The relationship, Joe and Max share is that of a brotherhood and it has been since the first day they came to meet on the courses in Valencia. The two are moving on to the next tournament and are well on their way to taking home another win but remain humble and focused on their next venture.
*The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main professional golf tours played by men in the United States and North America.

Comments