Back in 2022, Max Homa said he always roots for Michael Kim. Four years later, standing on the 18th tee of Harbour Town before the 2026 RBC Heritage commences, Homa proved his words. And Kim made sure his gesture wouldn’t go unnoticed.

“I was getting ready to hit my tee shot on 18 with my 3-wood when I saw a big crack on the face. All the trucks are gone, so the rep is trying to get it shipped overnight. My head pro from home is also shipping my backup from my locker. For now, I stole Max Homa’s 4-wood, which I hit pretty good on the range,” wrote Kim on X.

Kim and Homa both played on the UC Berkeley Golden Bears golf team together in 2012 and 2013. That 2013 team was outstanding, winning 10 of 12 regular-season tournaments. They went from winning college golf together to making careers on the PGA Tour, and it’s clear that the bond they formed during those years has never faded.

Many times, Max Homa has said in public that Kim is “like my little brother.” Homa was the one who encouraged Kim to train better when they were in college. He used to take him to the student recreation center, running him through offseason workouts that added muscle and shaped his development.

Around the 2022 Fortinet Championship, Kim admitted that Homa’s work ethic had a big impact on how he played the game. In 2025, Kim said that seeing Homa’s rise on Tour was an “eye opener” and that their careers had been “misaligned,” which means that when one was doing well, the other wasn’t. Still, he said that Homa’s growth inspired him during his own tough times, which shows how important that college foundation was for his career.

Kim also shared that multiple Tour players offered their backup 3-woods. And one of them even got his number through someone else just to reach out.

“We’re competing with one another but at the same time want to help out whenever possible,” Kim wrote.

Before the 2026 RBC Heritage, Kim had made 6 of 10 cuts this season and ranked 41st in Strokes Gained: Putting, pointing to steady form. His T54 finish at Harbour Town in 2025 leaves room for improvement this week.

Meanwhile, Max Homa has found the course challenging. His best result remains a T41 in 2020, followed by a missed cut in 2023 and a T55 in 2024. At Harbour Town, neither player has produced consistent results, adding to their dynamic: two players facing similar challenges but supporting each other when it counts.

That moment showed how close they were, but Max Homa’s week at Harbour Town is a different story.

Can Max Homa finally crack Harbour Town after his Masters success?

Max Homa comes to the 2026 RBC Heritage after finishing tied for ninth at Augusta National, which is his third straight top-12 finish at the Masters. His ongoing problem has been turning that momentum over to Hilton Head, where he finished 55th in 2024 and 70th in 2025 after strong Masters runs.

He knows the exact reason. The golfer said, “That mental toll the Masters takes on you is pretty draining.”

He also said that Augusta feels like two weeks on your body because of how hard it is to walk and get ready for the course. Major tournaments exhaust players in ways that regular Tour stops do not.

This week, his situation adds another layer. Homa is on a trip with his wife and two kids, one of whom was born last August. He said that one of them didn’t sleep well the night before.

“It’s definitely interesting how tired I am,” the 35-year-old said, but he thought he would be back to normal by the first round on Thursday.

Despite the fatigue, the 6x PGA Tour winner’s form coming in is genuinely encouraging. After finishing 111th in the FedEx Cup in 2025, he has rebounded to 50th this season, crediting a return to coach Mark Blackburn since October. A top-15 at the Cognizant Classic backs that up, and Harbour Town’s precision-focused layout suits a ball-striker trending upward.