J. B. Holmes

J. B. Holmes
Personal information
Full name John Bradley Holmes[1]
Born (1982-04-26) April 26, 1982
Campbellsville, Kentucky
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Nationality  United States
Residence Campbellsville, Kentucky
Career
College University of Kentucky
Turned professional 2005
Current tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins 7
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 4
Other 3
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T4: 2016
U.S. Open 12th: 2017
The Open Championship 3rd: 2016
PGA Championship T24/24th: 2010, 2015

John Bradley "J.B." Holmes (born April 26, 1982) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.

Early life

Holmes, born in Campbellsville, Kentucky, began to play on the varsity golf team at Taylor County High School in Campbellsville when he was in the third grade.[2][3] He suffered a mild form of dyslexia when in school.[4] Holmes' childhood friend, Brandon Parsons, is his caddy. While in high school he played on the Pepsi Junior Golf Tour. He attended the University of Kentucky in Lexington, helping to achieve SEC Title while there, and represented the United States in the 2005 Walker Cup before turning professional later that year.[5]

Professional career

Holmes was medalist at the 2005 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament. He tied for tenth in his first PGA Tour start at the 2006 Sony Open in Hawaii and in February that year he won the FBR Open, making him the fastest golfer to reach $1,000,000 in career earnings on the PGA Tour. It was his fifth tournament as a professional and his fourth on the PGA Tour.

After this victory his form fell away, and this continued in 2007 when he made only 2 top ten finishes and ended the year in 118th place on the money list.

On February 3, 2008, Holmes won the FBR Open for the second Tour win of his career and also captured the tournament title for the second time in three years. Starting the final round with a four shot lead, on the 18th tee he was one shot behind Phil Mickelson. Holmes birdied the 18th to force a play-off and then defeated Mickelson on the first playoff hole (the 18th) by making a six-foot birdie putt after a 359-yard drive.[6] This victory took Holmes to 62nd in the Official World Golf Ranking. In 2008, Holmes reached a career-high 42nd in the OWGR.

Style of play

Holmes, along with fellow 2006 rookies such as Camilo Villegas and Bubba Watson, is known for hitting the ball long distances, in excess of 300 yards (312.7 yards, ranking him number 2 in driving distance, only 6 yards behind the leader, Watson). As such, he plays courses by routinely hitting his driver as far as he can, reminiscent of John Daly's "Grip it and Rip It" philosophy, and using his distance advantage to put him closer to the green and in position for a wedge or short iron to the green. While the style of play is not new, many critics have complained that J.B. Holmes's style has ushered in a new wave of golfers dedicated to smashing the ball as far as they can, assisted by the newer golf equipment offered by golf club companies and hacking the ball out of the rough onto the green, effectively eliminating the equalizing effect that the sport of golf usually affords shorter, accurate hitters.

2008 Ryder Cup

In the 2008 Ryder Cup, Holmes defeated Europe's Søren Hansen 2&1 during Sunday's singles matches to bring the United States within one point of clinching the Ryder Cup. Jim Furyk would later defeat Miguel Ángel Jiménez on the 17th hole to clinch the Ryder Cup. Holmes and another Ryder Cup teammate, Kenny Perry, were named Kentuckians of the Year for 2008 by Kentucky Monthly magazine.

Brain surgery

After shooting an 80 in the first round, Holmes withdrew from the 2011 PGA Championship in August. He had been dealing with vertigo symptoms for several months and eventually was diagnosed with structural defects in the cerebellum known as Chiari malformations.[7] He underwent brain surgery on September 1, 2011, and about a month later, doctors discovered later that Holmes was allergic to the adhesive used on the webbed titanium plate at the base of his skull. He was airlifted from his home in Kentucky to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for another surgery. Holmes returned to the PGA Tour in late January 2012 at the Farmers Insurance Open.[8][9]

2012–15: Recovery and comeback

After brain surgery, Holmes played in 26 events in 2012. Elbow and ankle injuries limited him to six PGA Tour events in 2013 and did not play again until the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament on the Japan Golf Tour. Holmes satisfied his medical extension through earnings at the 2014 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, finishing T11. He would need a T63 at the Wells Fargo Championship to earn entry into the 2014 Players Championship via FedEx Cup points. Holmes would get his first win in six years, regained his Tour status through the 2015-2016 season, and moved from 242nd to 68th in the Official World Golf Ranking.[10] The win also earned Holmes entry into the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.

In February 2015, Holmes lost in a four-man sudden-death playoff at the Farmers Insurance Open. He held a co-lead after the 54-hole stage with Harris English, but could only shoot a level-par final round to enter the playoff. At the first playoff hole, Holmes made a birdie to move on to the second playoff hole with Jason Day, after English and Scott Stallings were eliminated with pars. On the par-three second playoff hole, Holmes flew the green and could not get down in two from the back rough, leaving Day with two putts from 15 feet for the victory.

In the first round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship, Holmes shot a 62 for a total of 10-under-par to lead by four strokes after the first day. His round included eight birdies and an eagle to tie the tournament record. Holmes retained his lead after the second round, despite a one-over-par 73. He led by two shots going into the weekend and opened up a five-shot lead following a 70 in the third round, which included a hole-in-one at the par-3 fourth hole. However his lead had gone by the sixth hole in the final round, after he bogeyed three of his opening six holes. Holmes played the rest of his round in even-par and would go on to shoot a 75 to finish one behind winner Dustin Johnson. His runner-up finish moved Holmes to 19th in the world rankings, his highest ever placing to date.

Professional wins (7)

PGA Tour wins (4)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 Feb 5, 2006 FBR Open −21 (68-64-65-66=263) 7 strokes United States J. J. Henry, United States Steve Lowery, United States Ryan Palmer,
United States Scott Verplank, Colombia Camilo Villegas
2 Feb 3, 2008 FBR Open (2) −14 (68-65-66-71=270) Playoff United States Phil Mickelson
3 May 4, 2014 Wells Fargo Championship −14 (70-67-66-71=274) 1 stroke United States Jim Furyk
4 Apr 5, 2015 Shell Houston Open −16 (65-70-73-64=272) Playoff United States Jordan Spieth, United States Johnson Wagner
PGA Tour playoff record (2–2)
No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2008 FBR Open United States Phil Mickelson Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2009 Shell Houston Open England Paul Casey Lost to bogey on first extra hole
3 2015 Farmers Insurance Open Australia Jason Day, United States Harris English,
United States Scott Stallings		 Day won with par on second extra hole
English and Stallings eliminated with birdie on first hole
4 2015 Shell Houston Open United States Jordan Spieth, United States Johnson Wagner Won with par on second extra hole
Spieth eliminated with par on first hole

Other wins (3)

Results in major championships

Tournament 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament T25
U.S. Open CUT T48 CUT T27
The Open Championship CUT CUT 69
PGA Championship T37 T29 WD
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Masters Tournament CUT T4 50
U.S. Open T17 T27 CUT 12
The Open Championship T14 CUT CUT CUT 3 T54
PGA Championship T24 WD T64 24 CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 1 1 2 4 3
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 5
The Open Championship 0 0 1 1 1 2 9 4
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 5
Totals 0 0 1 2 2 8 29 17

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

Tournament 2006 2007 2008
Mexico Championship DNP DNP T40
Match Play DNP DNP R64
Bridgestone Invitational T50 DNP T36
Tournament 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Mexico Championship DNP T18 DNP DNP DNP DNP 2 59 T12
Match Play DNP DNP QF DNP DNP DNP T9 T28 T51
Bridgestone Invitational T36 T44 DNP DNP DNP T26 T37 T27 T60
HSBC Champions DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T28 DNP T35

The HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur
Professional

See also

References

  1. ↑ "For a burly, long-hitting Ryder Cup star, J.B. Holmes has remained remarkably anonymous". Golf.com. April 5, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  2. ↑ "After 10 years on his school team, Holmes joins the PGA Tour varsity". PGA of America. Associated Press. January 6, 2007. Archived from the original on January 9, 2007. Retrieved January 8, 2007.
  3. ↑ 2007 PGA Tour Media Guide. PGA Tour. p. 2/86.
  4. ↑ Hack, Damon (January 29, 2006). "Holmes Finally Finds Some Clarity and Focus". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ Holmes reflects back on the Ryder Cup ride
  6. ↑ "Holmes regroups, then beats Mickelson in FBR playoff". PGA Tour. February 3, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  7. ↑ "J.B. Holmes to have brain surgery". ESPN. August 23, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  8. ↑ "J.B. Holmes, after a scare with brain surgery, gets back to golf". Washington Post. Associated Press. January 24, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  9. ↑ "What they said: J.B. Holmes - interview transcript". PGA Tour. January 24, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  10. ↑ Dawes, Mike (May 5, 2014). "JB Holmes recovers from brain surgery to win Wells Fargo Championship". Daily Mail. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
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