PGA’s Max Homa Reveals Medical Condition, Gets Candid About Mental Health

After dealing with a secret medical condition for years, PGA star Max Homa finally decided to get honest. 

“I just looked at it as, ‘I hope this just goes away someday,’” Homa, 35, exclusively told Us Weekly of his experience with seborrheic dermatitis, a chronic inflammatory skin condition that results in itchy, flaky patches he’s been dealing with since high school. The golfer said as a young adult he simply tried to ignore the irritating symptoms.

“I hope my scalp stops flaking, I hope my face stops getting red, I hope I stop being itchy,” Homa, who spoke to Us via his partnership with Arcutis, added. “Twenty years later, I realized I probably waited long enough.”

Homa credited his wife, Lacey, with inspiring him to get proactive about his health.

Why Former ESPN Anchor Kenny Mayne Is 'Banned For Life' From Golf Course

“My wife nudged me to go to a dermatologist, and when I did, I got diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis,” he recalled. “I had always just thought it was just some simple thing, and when I actually saw it was something that is chronic. I realized that, ‘Oh, I need some form of topical medicine.’”

Homa was prescribed Zorvye, a once-daily topical foam, and then approached by Arcutis to be a spokesperson for the biopharmaceutical company’s Free to Be Me campaign. 

“I would be lying if I said it was just an automatic yes,” he admitted. “I was quite embarrassed that other people were going to know about this. I’ve been trying to hide it forever, and then I realized, ‘Hey, we’re all going through some stuff, might as well maybe help the next person.’”

Dr. Tina Bhutani, a board-certified dermatologist, told Us that seborrheic dermatitis can manifest in other ways if  left untreated.

“It can go into other areas like the face, the beard area, sometimes in the ears, on the chest, on the back, so it can definitely become a lot more visible in places where you can’t really hide it anymore,” Bhutani explained. “And then also it can be itchy, it can be painful, it can be symptomatic, so it’s really important to remember that this truly is a skin disease, it’s not just a cosmetic concern.”

Max Homa Courtesy of Arcutis

In addition to taking care of his physical health, Homa opened up about his mental health, which is routinely tested during a grueling PGA season. 

“I work on it all the time. I’m still not great at it,” Homa said of his headspace. “You just try to continue to evolve. I think that’s kind of the point. Hopefully, one of these days, I’ll have it kind of handled.”

He added, “You gotta keep yourself in check. There’s been weeks where I’ve done a great job and I’m very proud of myself. I think what I resonate with is —  and I’ve talked to my psychologist and my coach about this — the weeks, even when I don’t win, but when I feel like I did a really good job mentally, I am so proud of myself.”

Golfer Brooks Koepka Makes Major Career Change Due to Family Concerns

Homa said he’s been able to use his two sons — Cam, 3, and Austin, 6 months — as motivation to keep him on track if he ever feels himself faltering. 

“It kind of goes back to my little boys,” Homa explained. “If my son ever tried to play a professional sport, or really do anything, at the end of every day, I’d just be like, ‘Did you try really hard, and were you in a good state of mind? Did you do all the things you could control?’ And if he said, ‘Yeah,’ I’d say, ‘Then eff everything else.’ That’s all you can do. Let’s move along and be proud of ourselves.”

He continued, “I definitely have been working on trying to control what I can control and throw the outcome out the window. It’s so much easier said than done, but that has been the goal for the last couple months.”

As part of the Free to Be Me campaign, Homa is encouraging the millions of Americans living with seborrheic dermatitis to speak with their healthcare providers about long-term treatment options. For more, click here.