PGA Tour star Max Homa has sent Australian golf fans into a spin after hinting he’ll tee it up at next year’s Crown Australian Open.
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The six-time PGA Tour winner took to Instagram over the weekend with a message that quickly lit up social media: “Instagram has me feeling like I gotta play in Australia next year. Looks heavenly.”
Homa’s post comes at the end of a blockbuster week at Royal Melbourne, where Rory McIlroy made his long-awaited return to the Australian Open and helped propel the event back onto the global stage. The tournament got the dramatic finish it deserved, with Danish star Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen holding on to beat Aussie favourite Cam Smith on the 18th hole.
Asked how much influence he might have in luring more big names – including Homa – to Kingston Heath in 2026, McIlroy said the process goes well beyond player-to-player nudges.
“Look, obviously I would love to have a few more players come down to play, but again, it’s hard (when there’s) three tournaments going on in the schedule this week. There needs to be conversations had with people, much more important than me that set the schedules and do all that sort of stuff and hopefully the Australian Open can find a date that accommodates everyone and can at least have the option to come down and play.”
McIlroy also had some fun when asked about Homa’s Instagram tease.
“I think you’d have to qualify first, but yeah, look, it would be amazing,” said McIlroy. “I think the scenes and just how this tournament has looked on TV all week, you have that (being televised) in Europe or back in the United States, it makes an impact. I said this earlier in the week, but if you compare this tournament to the other two tournaments going on in the world of golf this week (Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas and the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa), there’s no comparison. Yes, the field in The Bahamas is stronger than the one here, but in terms of atmosphere, of golf course, basically everything else you’re looking for in a tournament, I can’t think of many better than this.”
If Homa follows through, more Americans may follow, and Kingston Heath could be hosting one of the most star-studded Australian Opens in years.
