Holmes caps long road back

Monday, May 5, 2014

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - J.B. Holmes was a 3-foot putt away from winning the Wells Fargo Championship when he backed away to size up the situation.

This wasn’t about pressure. He was just happy to be there.

Nearly three years removed from brain surgery, Holmes was in a far better place Sunday at Quail Hollow. His 3-foot bogey putt gave him a 1-under 71 and a one-shot victory over Jim Furyk, capping a remarkable comeback from a health issue that wouldn’t be classified as the garden variety in golf.

Not many other guys keep a piece of their skull in a container in their closet.

“Just enjoying the moment,” Holmes said. “You don’t get that very often, so getting up and thanking God for letting me have the opportunity to do it. Whether I made it or not, just enjoy being there.”

He made it more stressful than he needed, with two bogeys on the last three holes and an 8-foot par putt on the other. Jason Bohn had the best chance to catch Holmes, one shot behind until pulling a 4-iron into the water on the par-3 17th and making double bogey. Phil Mickelson never had a chance, missing four putts from the 4-foot range and closing with a 76 to finish out of the top 10.

It was the third PGA Tour victory for Holmes, and by far the sweetest.

Holmes made enough key putts to allow for some mistakes at the end. He ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch around the turn, including a 30-footer on No. 11 that opened up a two-shot lead. He gouged a fairway metal out of the rough on the par-5 15th to set up a 6-foot birdie putt that stretched his lead to three shots.

Perhaps the biggest putt of all was an 8-foot par save on the 17th hole. That kept his lead at two shots, and he needed it. Instead of playing an iron off the tee, he drove into the right rough, came up well short of the green and chipped weakly to 45 feet.

Furyk was watching on TV in the locker room when Holmes knocked in the bogey putt to finish at 14-under 274.

CHAMPIONS TOUR Langer’s 1 under enough

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - Bernhard Langer won the Champions Tour’s Insperity Invitational for the third time, closing with a 1-under 71 for a one-stroke victory over Fred Couples.

Langer finished at 11-under 205 at The Woodlands to become the 10th 20-time winner on the 50-and-over tour.

Couples, the former University of Houston player who won the 2010 event, finished with a 67.

PGA EUROPEAN

Aguilar’s eagle wins it

SINGAPORE - Chile’s Felipe Aguilar won The Championship at Laguna National, holing out for eagle from 142 yards on the par-4 18th hole for a 10-under 62 and a one-stroke victory.

Aguilar played the back nine in 8-under 28 and finished at 22-under 266. He birdied the par-5 15th and holed a 10-foot putt for another birdie on the par-3 17th.

American David Lipsky (65) and Denmark’s Anders Hansen (67) tied for second.

WEB.COM Victory is first for Barber

VALDOSTA, Ga. - Blayne Barber won the South Georgia Classic for his first Web.com Tour title, closing with a 5-under 67 for a two-stroke victory.

The 24-year-old former Auburn player had a 15-under 273 total at Kinderlou Forest. He earned $117,000 to jump from 29th to sixth on the money list with $155,257.

Alex Prugh was second after a 67.

Sports, Pages 15 on 05/05/2014