Slowcoach Holmes sucks the joy out of his victory
IT SHouLd have been one of the feelgood stories of the year: a win in Hollywood in Tiger Woods’ tournament over Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas for a man who came back from brain surgery.
A man who wondered aloud in those dark days whether he would live a full life again, let alone beat such stellar competition to win the Genesis open, one of the best events on the PGA Tour.
How could it get better than that? Surely the watching world was raising its arms and saluting the guts and gifts of JB Holmes?
except nobody was. At almost 1am in Britain, it is hard to imagine who could have raised an eyelid let alone an arm as Holmes sucked all the life and joy out of the event.
Perhaps only the other Holmes could solve the mystery of why the PGA Tour do not do something about slow play. or a cynic.
‘until TV or sponsors say no more money, it ain’t gonna change,’ said an exasperated Adam Scott, who had the misfortune to partner Holmes all day.
Was it a coincidence Holmes’ antics saw Scott and Justin Thomas, his other playing partner, lose the plot as the day progressed? Thomas began the day looking like the best player in the world. He finished with a 75, his worst score for 18 months.
When the five-hours-35-minutes final round drew mercifully to a close, Holmes had the brass neck to say he has got quicker over the years. He pointed to the fact his group were never put on the clock, which says everything about the appalling indolence of the PGA Tour when it comes to policing the pace of play.
yes, the conditions were brutal and yes, we know players will take longer with so much at stake. But golf cannot go on like this and expect people to watch.
Fair play to American pro Zac Blair for calling out Holmes on social media, describing his pace as ‘beyond ridiculous and disrespectful to his playing partners’.
But, as he pointed out, it needs the big names to speak up, not just members of the chorus line.
This has been the worst start to a season I can recall, with the wretched behaviour of Sergio Garcia and Matt kuchar piled on top of the rumpus about the new rules. on Sunday, it got worse.