Elementary for Holmes in Houston

Post by Sports Writer, Derek Clements

WOW! How good was that? He started the day six shots off the lead, but after opening with five successive birdies, JB Holmes romped to a final round of 64, waited for two hours for the rest of the field to finish and then beat Jordan Spieth and a resurgent Johnson Wagner in a playoff to win the Shell Houston Open.

Holmes set a target of 16 under par, which for much of the final round looked like it might be one shot shy. But try as they might, nobody could beat his total. Last year, Matt Jones won this same title in dramatic fashion, holing a huge putt on the 18th and then chipping in at the same hole in a playoff to beat Matt Kuchar.

It was no less exciting this time around. Wagner, playing on a sponsor's invitation after finishing 150th on the money list in 2014, holed a 30-footer on the 18th for a rare birdie to match Holmes' total. His jig of joy showed exactly how much it meant to a man whose father is seriously ill with lung cancer. And moment later, Spieth, after bunkering his approach, nailed a 12-footer for a par to make it a three-way playoff.

Final round and playoff highlights from the Shell Houston Open

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLYuHiclHqg

Wagner and Holmes both split the 18th fairway when the playoff began but Spieth's drive nearly found the water and he found himself with an approach shot with the ball way above hit feet. He hit the ball into a greenside bunker and as he reached the top of his backswing in the sand a camera went off. It put him off and he played a poor shot. Holmes was safely abroard in two and two-putted for par. Wagner, from the same bunker as Spieth, nearly holed out and tapped in for par. Spieth made a bold attempt to hole his 50-footer but narrowly failed to do so and was eliminated.

Wagner and Holmes returned to the 18th tee and, once again, both men found the short grass, but Holmes, who is one of the longest hitters on tour, was fully 20 yards ahead. Wagner, a two-time winner on Tour and a previous winner of this event, found the green but was a long way from the hole. Holmes put his approach about 20 feet away from the hole. Unsurprisingly, Wagner had a run at the hole and finished fully six feet past the cup and when Holmes two-putted all eyes were on Wagner. Sadly, he lipped out, to hand the title to Holmes - it is no more than he deserved after twice finished in second place this season.

When Holmes finished his round he was actually two ahead, but he felt sure that at least one player would overtake him. “I didn’t focus on the results at any point in the round,” said Holmes, 32. "I was just trying to do the best I could do each hole and at the end of the round, then you add it up. I didn’t tee off expecting to win today, but you know, it’s a nice surprise.”

Holmes puts his superb play this season down to improved mental focus. He closes his eyes for several seconds as he stands behind his ball, visualising the shot he is about to play. “I’m trying to take a deep breath and stay in the moment, not let my mind race, just sometimes say a little prayer,” he said.
As far as Spieth was concerned, this was almost the perfect preparation for Augusta. “I feel as prepared as I think I could be,” he said. “I feel more and more comfortable with more and more pressure, and that gives me a lot of confidence going into Augusta, where you probably have the most pressure anywhere.”

Spieth is second in the FedEx Cup standings and will head to The Masters believing that his putting is right where it needs to be. Last year, in his Augusta debut, he was second and he wants to go one better this time, but the 21-year-old admitted he will have to work on his long irons before The Masters starts.

“To be able to get up-and-down gives me a lot of confidence on the greens, and that’s obviously the most important piece at Augusta National,” he said. “But I’m going to need to strike the ball a little better to have a chance to win.”