Top 3 Reasons Max Homa’s Longest Drive Will Remain Controversial in the PGA Tour History

Max Homa set a record at the 2024 Sentry by hitting the longest drive in the PGA Tour’s history. Homa’s drive on the par-4 seventh hole at Kapalua’s Plantation Course measured a whopping 477 yards. It surpassed the previous record of 476 yards set by Davis Lovе III in the 2004 edition of this tournament, then known as the Mercedes Championship.

Notably, Homa’s feat was not without controversy, as three golfers hit longer drives than him. However, they are not officially recognized by the PGA Tour. Here are the top three reasons why Homa’s longest drive will remain a contentious topic in the PGA Tour’s history:

1. Tiger Woods

Since 2000, the PGA Tour has been using ShotLink to track some of the golf shots on the tour, but they only have 24 years of data to base the official record on. Shot Link started partially in 2000 and became fully operational in 2003. The 15x Major Champion hit thе longеst drivе еvеr mеasurеd by ShotLink in 2002, whеn hе smashеd a 498-yard drivе on thе 18th holе at Kapalua.

That year, the 18th, was very springy. The 11 longest drives in PGA Tour history all happened on that hole, and 10 of them were in that same tournament. But the PGA Tour changed their minds and revised the numbers from the 2002 Masters, taking 27 drives from that event off the official record, and that included Woods’s amazing drive.

2. Dustin Johnson

What about the drives that happen during match-play events? Johnson hit a 489-yard drive on the 12th hole at the 2018 WGC-Dеll Technology Match Play, which was the longest-recorded drive in PGA Tour history. However, that drive was not measured by ShotLink because the match-play event does not count toward historical rankings. Therefore, Johnson’s drive, which is 75 yards longer than Homa’s, is not officially recognized by the PGA Tour.

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3. Carl Cooper

Carl Cooper’s long drive is relatively unknown. He holds the technical record for the longest drive in PGA Tour history. Cooper hit a 787-yard drive on the third hole at the 1992 Tesla Open, which is almost twice as long as Homa’s drive. However, Cooper’s drive was assisted by a concrete cart path and unfortunately was not considered a legitimate record by the Tour. The golfer also made a double bogey on the hole, which shows that distance is not everything in golf.

What are your thoughts on the drives that were not recorded by the PGA Tour in its history book? Do let us know in the comments below!

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