JB Holmes wins at Wells Fargo

JB Holmes edged out Jim Furyk by a shot to claim his third PGA Tour title at the Wells Fargo Championship, finishing on 14-under-par for the tournament.

The victory was JB Holmes’ first since brain surgery three-years ago, after he was diagnosed with structural defects in the cerebellum known as Chiara malformations.

The big hitting American had to have a piece of his skull removed as part of the surgery. He then underwent further treatment as a result of an allergic reaction to the replacement titanium plate used, as part of the initial surgery.

JB Holmes made hard work of the win, bogeying two of the final-three-holes, but a timely par-save at 17, ensured a bogey on the last was all he needed to claim the title.

A run of three-birdies in four-holes around the midway point gave Holmes the cushion he needed to seal the win – the pick of the bunch coming at 11 – where he holed a 30-foot putt to take a two-shot lead.

“it was a good day for me, had a lot of fun.  Haven’t been there in a while, so it was just fun.”

JB Holmes summed up his victory: “I felt good all day.  Played well, used the driver really good.  Got out of trouble, when I did miss it, so it was a good day for me, had a lot of fun.  Haven’t been there in a while, so it was just fun.

Jim Furyk finished runner-up, carding an impressive round of 65. Furyk chipped in for eagle on the 15^th, then closed out with three-pars to finish – but he came up short.

The final day proved to be a frustrating one for Phil Mickelson, who struggled yet again. This time around it was his short putting that plagued the American – the worst of the lot coming on the 16^th where he four-putted from 30 feet.

His final round performance was his worst since 2012, but Phil made no excuses: “The greens putted perfectly, even though I didn’t.” he said afterwards.

The key to JB Holmes’ victory

JB Holmes combined distance with accuracy on the road to victory, and had an average driving distance for the week of 333.9 yards.