J.B. Holmes

Holmes started playing golf at 14 months old. Grew up playing baseball until he competed on his first junior golf tour and won his first four tournaments. Was on Taylor County (Kentucky) High School golf team as a third-grader, was No. 1 or No. 2 man by fifth grade, and won Kentucky high-school title as a sophomore. Known for his compact swing and long drives, he won the Kentucky State High School Championship in 1998. Was the 2002 Kentucky State Amateur champion and also won the New Year's Invitational at St. Petersburg, Florida. Earned first-team (2004), second-team (2005), third-team (2002), and honorable mention (2003) All-American honors in his four years at Kentucky. Was the 2005 SEC Player of the Year and first-team All-SEC in 2002 and 2004, '05. Academic All-America in 2004, '05. Member of the winning 2005 USA Walker Cup Team, 2008 Ryder Cup, and the 2015 Presidents Cup teams. Later that year, he made it through all three stages in his first trip to Q-School and finished at 24-under-par 408 to defeat Alex Cejka by three strokes and win low-medalist honors.
Two months later and in his fourth start of 2006 (his fifth as a professional), Holmes earned his first PGA Tour victory at the FBR Open. Led J.J. Henry and Ryan Palmer by one stroke through 54 holes, prior to defeating five players by seven strokes, the largest victory margin in a player's first PGA Tour win since Jose Maria Olazabal won the 1990 NEC World Series of Golf by 12 strokes. Posted all four rounds in the 60s, including the final round's only bogey-free score, a five-under 66.
2010 Notes: Missed only two cuts in 26 starts and had three top-10 finishes. Posted his third consecutive top-10 performance at the Northern Trust Open, with a T-3rd (was T-6th in 2009 and T-7th at Riviera in 2008), three strokes behind winner Steve Stricker. Came back the following week with a T-2nd at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, one shot behind winner Dustin Johnson, who birdied the 72nd hole. Holmes' last top-10 came at the AT&T National, where he finished 5th with a final-round 66. Attributed much of his success to newfound confidence in putting after getting instruction from Dave Stockton in late January. Returned to using a standard-length putter at that time.
2011 Notes: Began feeling vertigo-like symptoms as early as May and announced on August 22 that he would be undergoing surgery that would sideline him from competition for the rest of the season. Underwent successful brain surgery on September 1 at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, to repair Chiari malformations. The surgery went well, but Holmes was getting sick and having splitting headaches. Was rushed back into surgery when doctors at the hospital discovered he was allergic to the glue that surgeons used to affix a titanium plate to his skull. Despite the setback, Holmes finished the year 86th in the FedExCup Playoffs and 62nd in the money race with four top-10s. Didn't hit a golf ball for nearly six months.
2012 Notes: Was able to come back at the Farmers Insurance Open, and finished the West Coast swing with a T-8th at the Northern Trust Open. Added another T-8th at the Shell Houston Open and completed the year ranked 48th in the FedExCup Playoffs and 80th on the money list. Holmes started suffering from a tennis elbow that was created at the start of the year when he hit too many golf balls in practice. The injury grew worse as the 2013 season progressed.
2013 Notes: Missed four of five cuts to start the season before fracturing his left ankle when he hit a rut in the road on March 9 while rollerblading with his fiancee. The last start was at the Honda Classic in March. Has used rollerblading as part of his training regimen as long as he can remember. The spill gave him time to have an operation on his elbow. He also got married during that time period.
2014 Notes: Made his return at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he finished T-23rd. His T-10th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational was his first top-10 result since a T-8th at the 2012 Shell Houston Open. A month later, won the Wells Fargo Championship, his third career victory. Was able to win his PGA Tour card back by finishing 42nd in the FedExCup standings and 35th on the money list.
2015 Notes: Started the year healthy for the first time since 2010. The year got rolling when he entered the final round with the lead at the Farmers Insurance Open. Shot a final-round 72 and was in a three-man playoff, but lost on the second playoff hole to Jason Day. Next week, he finished T-10th at the AT&T Pebble Beach, marking his first back-to-back top-10s since 2011. At the WGC-Cadillac, he opened with a 62 and led through the final round. Shot a closing 75, though, and finished 2nd, one shot behind Dustin Johnson. At the Shell Houston Open, shot a final-round 64 to make up six shots and get into a playoff with Jordan Spieth and Johnson Wagner. Holmes won, defeating Wagner with a par at the second playoff hole. Delivered another top-10 finish at WGC-Cadillac, reaching the round of 16 before losing to Jim Furyk, 5 and 3. Played in all four FedExCup Playoff events. Was T-4th at the BMW Championship and T-8th at the Tour Championship. Finished the year 14th in the FedExCup standings and 12th on the money list. Finished the season 12th in the USA team's Presidents Cup standings but was selected by captain Jay Haas to complete the squad after Jim Furyk announced he was unable to compete due to a lingering wrist injury. Went 2-2-1 in his five Presidents Cup matches.
2016 Notes: Started his year with a T-24th finish at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, then had a pair of T-6ths at the Farmers Insurance Open and the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Ended the West Coast Swing with a pair of T-11ths at the AT&T Pebble Beach and the Northern Trust. Withdrew from the Shell Houston Open citing a shoulder injury, but since then has had no problems. Finished T-4th at the Masters and Memorial. Had his best finish in 25 major starts when he placed 3rd at the British Open at Troon. His T-4th at the BMW Championship got him into the Tour Championship, where he finished 27th. In 22 starts, he finished 30th in the FedExCup standings and 27th on the money list. Ended the year 11th at the Hero World Challenge.
2017 Notes: Played 21 PGA Tour events, making the cut 13 times and finishing in the top-10 twice. Teamed with 2011 Zurich Classic champion Bubba Watson to finish T-5th at 19-under in the new Foursomes/Four-ball format at the Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana in New Orleans. Also finished T-9th at the Greenbrier Classic.
2018 Notes: Played 24 PGA Tour events and made 14 cuts with three top-10 results. Finished 82nd in the FedExCup standings. Placed 4th at the Farmers Insurance Open at 9-under 279, one shot short of the three-man playoff won by Jason Day. Shot four rounds in the 60s to finish alone in 3rd place at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Shot a final-round 67 to finish T-2nd at the Travelers Championship, three shots behind winner Bubba Watson.
2019 Notes: Played in 25 PGA Tour events making 15 cuts with two top-ten finishes. Was 56th in the FedExCup standings. Started his year 9th at the Safeway Open. Won his fifth PGA Tour title and first since the 2015 Houston Open at the Genesis Open. Opened with a first-round 63 that included an ace at the sixth hole, and was able to hold on to edge Justin Thomas by a shot. Had the first-round lead and a share of the second-round lead at the British Open before shooting a final round 87 to finish T-67th. In the FedExCup Playoffs was T-52nd in the Northern Trust and T-65th in the BMW Championship.
2020 Notes: Best finish T-14th AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Unfortunately, he was forced to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational due to an elbow injury and had to withdraw at the Workday Charity Open after a first-round 73 citing a shoulder injury.