What it’s like to hang out with Max Homa, according to NBA star

Being a PGA Tour player means you get to hang out with some pretty cool company.

Take the 2022 Tour Championship when Max Homa was introduced to now-former NBA power forward Blake Griffin.

“He told me the story about I’d gone to visit a kid that was at his that he went to high school with,” Griffin told GOLF Subpar co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on this week’s episode. “I went to visit him in the hospital. He, like, wasn’t doing well and unfortunately passed away. And I wore one of his bracelets during a game and I had it on like a post-game interview.

“He was like, ‘Dude, I don’t even know if you remember this, but that kid went to my high school. You know, I knew him growing up and everybody at the school thought it was so cool. And it just stuck with me forever.’”

That connection instantly connected the two and they went out to dinner that night. Homa had just shot 62 at East Lake during the second round of the tournament.

“This guy just fired 64 (sic) for the Tour Championship, and he’s just sitting at dinner, hanging, talking and like, the most down-to-earth person ever,” Griffin said.

At the time, Homa’s wife Lacey was pregnant with the couple’s first child. So when it was time to leave, Griffin used his 6-foot-9, 250 lbs frame to good use: Clearing the way so Lacey could get space to walk out.

That’s not the only player Griffin has spent time with. He also hung out with Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa at the Netflix Cup last fall in Last Vegas. He and Thomas are even repped by the same agency.

For more from Griffin including how he got into golf, check out the full episode of GOLF Subpar below.

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.