J. B. Holmes

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

J. B. Holmes
Personal information
Full nameJohn Bradley Holmes[1]
Born (1982-04-26) April 26, 1982
Campbellsville, Kentucky
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Nationality United States
ResidenceCampbellsville, Kentucky
Career
CollegeUniversity of Kentucky
Turned professional2005
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins8
Highest ranking12 (April 5, 2015)[2]
(as of August 16, 2020)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour5
Other3
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT4: 2016
PGA ChampionshipT24/24th: 2010, 2015
U.S. Open12th: 2017
The Open Championship3rd: 2016

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.[3][4] He suffered a mild form of dyslexia when in school.[5] 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.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8] He underwent brain surgery on September 1, 2011, and about a month later, doctors discovered 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.[9][10]

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.[11] 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.

2018

In January 2018, Holmes was criticized by his fellow pros on social media after taking four minutes and ten seconds over his second shot to the 18th hole in the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open. Holmes needed an eagle to get into a playoff but eventually laid up.[12] Holmes later said he was 'shocked' by the negative reaction to incident, comments that sparked another backlash.[13] Fellow pro Justin Thomas defended Holmes though, saying he would have done exactly the same had he been in his position.[14]

2019

On February 17, 2019, Holmes won the Genesis Open, his fifth PGA Tour victory and first in nearly four years. Holmes overcame a four shot deficit in the final round to finish one stroke ahead of the 54-hole leader Justin Thomas, at the end of a marathon 34-hole final day. The pivotal moment occurring at the 13th hole during the final round, when Holmes holed a 12-foot par putt and Thomas missed two short putts, resulting in a double bogey.[15]

Holmes shared the 36-hole lead at the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush with Irishman Shane Lowry. Holmes shot opening rounds of 66-68 for an eight under total. However, he was unable to get it done on the weekend, shooting 69-87 to drop to a tie for 67th.

Personal life

Holmes is married to Erica Holmes. The couple got married in 2013. The couple have a son who was born in 2017.[16] Holmes is a Christian.[17][18]

Holmes has a Goldendoodle service dog named Ace that helps him with his vertigo.[16]

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (5)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 Feb 5, 2006 FBR Open 68-64-65-66=263 −21 7 strokes J. J. Henry, Steve Lowery,
Ryan Palmer, Scott Verplank,
Camilo Villegas
2 Feb 3, 2008 FBR Open (2) 68-65-66-71=270 −14 Playoff Phil Mickelson
3 May 4, 2014 Wells Fargo Championship 70-67-66-71=274 −14 1 stroke Jim Furyk
4 Apr 5, 2015 Shell Houston Open 65-70-73-64=272 −16 Playoff Jordan Spieth, Johnson Wagner
5 Feb 17, 2019 Genesis Open 63-69-68-70=270 −14 1 stroke Justin Thomas

PGA Tour playoff record (2–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2008 FBR Open Phil Mickelson Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2009 Shell Houston Open Paul Casey Lost to bogey on first extra hole
3 2015 Farmers Insurance Open Jason Day, Harris English,
Scott Stallings		 Day won with par on second extra hole
English and Stallings eliminated with birdie on first hole
4 2015 Shell Houston Open Jordan Spieth, Johnson Wagner Won with par on second extra hole
Spieth eliminated with par on first hole

Other wins (3)

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

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 201020112012201320142015201620172018
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 T28 CUT
Tournament 20192020
Masters Tournament T62
PGA Championship CUT
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship T67 NT
  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00011254
PGA Championship000002116
U.S. Open00000295
The Open Championship001112105
Totals0012283520
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (2017 Masters – 2017 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship
Tournament 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
The Players Championship T38 T16 T10 CUT T13 T6 CUT CUT T51 CUT T41 CUT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

Tournament20062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
Championship T40 T18 2 59 T12
Match Play R64 QF T9 T28 T51 T17
Invitational T50 T36 T36 T44 T26 T37 T27 T60 54
Champions T28 T35
  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
Professional
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See also

References
  1. "For a burly, long-hitting Ryder Cup star, J.B. Holmes has remained remarkably anonymous". Golf.com. April 5, 2009. Archived from the original on April 13, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  2. "Week 14 2015 Ending 5 Apr 2015" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  3. "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.
  4. 2007 PGA Tour Media Guide. PGA Tour. p. 2/86.
  5. Hack, Damon (January 29, 2006). "Holmes Finally Finds Some Clarity and Focus". The New York Times.
  6. Holmes reflects back on the Ryder Cup ride
  7. "Holmes regroups, then beats Mickelson in FBR playoff". PGA Tour. February 3, 2008. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  8. "J.B. Holmes to have brain surgery". ESPN. August 23, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  9. "J.B. Holmes, after a scare with brain surgery, gets back to golf". Washington Post. Associated Press. January 24, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  10. "What they said: J.B. Holmes - interview transcript". PGA Tour. January 24, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  11. Dawes, Mike (May 5, 2014). "JB Holmes recovers from brain surgery to win Wells Fargo Championship". Daily Mail. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  12. Inglis, Martin (January 29, 2018). "J.B. Holmes blasted by fellow pros for slow play". bunkered.
  13. Inglis, Martin (January 31, 2018). "J.B. Holmes 'shocked' at reaction to slow play storm". bunkered.
  14. Inglis, Martin (February 1, 2018). "Justin Thomas on J.B. Holmes: 'I have his back all day'". bunkered.
  15. Ferguson, Doug (February 17, 2019). "J.B. Holmes rallies to win a marathon finish at Genesis Open". PGA of America. Associated Press. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  16. Dodge, Sam. "Erica Holmes, J.B. Holmes' Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  17. Zarley, Kermit. "J. B. Holmes Wins Genesis Open". Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  18. Mercer, Kevin. "Golfer J.B. Holmes among British Open leaders, thankful to God for surviving two brain surgeries". Retrieved July 21, 2019.
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