Feb 07

J.B. Holmes crushes the ball and the PGA Tour field

What a breath of fresh air! J.B. Holmes no doubt captured a legion of fans with his stunning knockout victory over the field at the FBR in Phoenix, AZ. If it was a fight, they would have stopped it on Sunday after the 15th hole. His progress from here will be an interesting story to follow. What we have here is a genuine, small-town, long-knockin’, country hero from Kentucky.

After an excellent - but not dominant - college career which culminated with J.B. playing in the Walker Cup, he turned pro, accepted an exemption into the Southern Farm Bureau Classic and promptly missed the cut. Then he girded his loins and headed off to the Tour Q-school. And made it through all three stages, including a first place finish in the six-round grinder to earn his Tour card.

What has developed since could not be scripted. A tenth place finish in his first event of the year in Hawaii. And now this, a victory where he demolished a very good field that included Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Chris DiMarco. And the way Holmes plays should make him a fan favorite for life. This kid hits it a million miles - straight – and he doesn’t back off when pressured. On top of all that he’s a real good guy. Did you happen to see him stop and give his Dad a hug on the walk to the 18th tee Sunday? It was a MasterCard moment … priceless.

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8 comments

Comment from: Jackson [Visitor]

Thanks Shanks! Great writing and a great story. He does seem to be the genuine article both on and off the course. Nice moment with his dad and the fans heading to 18, reminded me a little bit of Happy Gilmore, high fiving members of the gallery. It's hard to imagine it was a fluke as Braindead Al is suggesting on his blog. I wish him continued success and will keep watching those 350 yard fades.

02/07/06 @ 12:45

Comment from: Norman [Visitor]

Shanks, it was a great achievement by JB, but describing his drives as straight? His driving in the season so far has been less than accurate.

52.7% leaves him at 118th in driving accuacy so far.

His win was a great one, and a great achievement against some very good players, even if this event was obviously the Tier 2 event of that weekend.

Another thing, his driving average is 313.5 yards which is very impressive indeed, but a long way off Jackson's 350 yarders, which are few in number.

02/07/06 @ 16:59

Comment from: Mitch [Visitor]

His drives were very straight on Sunday, and he had several that were in the 350 yard range. I believe his drive on 18 was 354 yards, and Feherty, Nance and Wadkins were dumb founded with his length and accuracy. They're excitement for this young rookie was as if we were watching Tiger II. Will his success continue, or was it just the case of another "hot" golfer in the zone for the week? I think it will be fun to watch Tiger go up against guys like Bubba Watson and JB Holmes.

02/07/06 @ 17:16

Comment from: Jackson [Visitor]

Norman-- You know as well as I do that driving distance is taken from a small sample of predetermined holes. We all know the kid can fly the ball over 313 yards as evidenced by his driving the 17th hole 322 yards with a 3-wood and splitting the middle with his driver on 18 to the tune of nearly 360 yards. So yes you are right to say that he won't average 350 for the year, but he can hit em' 350 all day long if that was his wish. 2nd tier or not it is a great win for the young man one which you should let him enjoy rather than splitting hairs over hyperbole.

02/07/06 @ 17:24

Comment from: Stone [Visitor]

How is it that the FBR was a 2nd tier event. They had 5 of the top ten playing vs. only 3 in Dubai and they had far more of the world's top 50 playing. The playoff of Tiger against Els in the Dubai had the name recognition, but the most impressive win of the weekend belonged to J.B. Holmes as he dismantled a field consisting of the likes of Phil, Vijay and Sergio.

02/07/06 @ 18:54

Comment from: Ron Mon [Member]

I initially thought it was 2nd tier, too. Perhaps the party atmosphere and the Arizona factor (what of enduring relevance EVER happens in Arizona?) contributed to my egregious error. However, I side with Stone in calling it a Tier One event. Just because Vijay sucked all week and Phil sucked on Saturday to take himself out of it, are no reasons to call it Tier 2.

02/07/06 @ 22:14

Comment from: Johnny N. [Visitor]

Sorry, but much and all as I love the pga, and it is the finest tour, but I do admit that it did play 2nd fiddle to Dubai that weekend.

Tiger, Ernie and Retief are about the best in golf at the moment. Any event without those 3 is probably not top class. I agree that Phil and Vijay are great players, but at this part of the season, they are well behind the guys who were playing in Dubai. Well done to JB for an excellent win, but don't waste your money backing him for majors.

02/08/06 @ 07:41

Comment from: wiltie [Visitor]

Norman your an *ss.He was hitting 350 yard fades every time he stepped up on the tee with driver and on the last day he hit so many fairways.The reason his driving average was 313 or whatever is that they took into acount a few irons off the tee.Jackson your right and Norman who are you?

04/21/06 @ 14:15

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