John B. "J.B." Holmes (born April 26, 1982) is an
American golfer.
Holmes was born in Campbellsville, Kentucky. Holmes
began to play on the Taylor County High School
(Campbellsville) varsity golf team when he was in
third grade. He suffered a mild form of dyslexia
when in school.
While in high school he played on the Pepsi Junior
Golf Tour. He attended the University of Kentucky
and represented the United States in the 2005 Walker
Cup before turning professional later that year.
Holmes won 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. This victory took Holmes to 62nd in the
Official World Golf Rankings and in April 2008 he
reached the top 50 of the world rankings for the
first time.
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.
