How exciting that was to watch J.B. Holmes gather himself and win the PGA tour FBR Open in Scottsdale, AZ. JB got off to a great start and opened a 4 shot lead thru 6 holes on Sunday, but three bogeys in four holes trimmed his lead to one. He maintained his lead until hole #15 where he drowned his second shot in the greenside water and made a bogey. Meanwhile, Mickelson made a birdie at #17 and took a one shot lead.
Holmes didn't fold under the pressure of trailing for the first time since round #2. He drove in front of the green on #17 and narrowly missed a birdie. On #18 trailing by one, He mashed a drive over the water and bunker that only he and a couple of others can attempt. His ball stopped in the left rough leaving him a great angle into the pin. His second shot finished about 12 feet under the hole where he drained the tying putt dead-center.
The playoff was all JB as Mickelson hit the fairway with a 3-wood and Holmes saved his drive of the tournament for the playoff, a 350+ yard bomb, dead-center in the fairway. Mickelson hit to about 20-25 feet right of the hole while Holmes pitched to 6-8 feet behind the hole. Mickelson misses and Holmes made his putt to win The FBR Open for the second time in 3 years.
The second win certainly puts a validation on JB's early career and hopefully a great third season in which he makes the Ryder Cup team at Valhalla this fall. JB has jumped to 5th position in the standings and Mickelson has entered the top 10 with his impressive play the last two weeks.
JB will be in the field at Pebble Beach this week for the ATT Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. if I remember correctly, I believe he missed the tournament following his win in 2006. With 2+ years of experience on tour, I look for big things from JB for many years to come. And you have to hand it to Mr. Phil Mickelson, with all the positive things he had to say about JB and his future on tour.
Check out JB's website listed on the links to the right...
"PRO"
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