Holmes takes Riviera glory as slow play plagues PGA Tour again
Genesis Open report: What happened at Riviera?
Yet another week of weather disruption plagued the PGA Tour which led to a long day of golf on Sunday as the majority of round three was yet to be completed.
"Hard work. Dedication." ?
Round 3 of the @GenesisOpen resumes at 6:45 a.m. PST on Sunday.@TigerWoods will be waking up at 2 or 3 a.m. to get ready for his tee time. pic.twitter.com/3d38Ml8o9I
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 17, 2019
Once the final round was underway, the four-shot lead that Justin Thomas held over JB Holmes at the beginning of the last 18 disappeared.
It was seemingly Thomas’s to lose and that turned out to be the case. His putter was cold throughout and despite not taking three or more putts in his last 190 holes, he would do that twice on the back-nine.
3-putts or worse for Justin Thomas:
Previous 190 holes: 0
Last 4 holes: 2 pic.twitter.com/Z8PvN905c1— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 17, 2019
But despite his painfully slow play, which we will get onto later, Holmes played some exceptional golf to ensure he would lift the trophy.
Having gained the lead on the 10th and quickly lost it again with a bogey at the 11th, but that wasn’t the end of it.
As former World No. 1 Thomas made double-bogey at 13, Holmes made sure he would not be beaten and holed a number of clutch par putts down the stretch, with the 16th a particular highlight.
What a par save for @JBHolmesGolf at 16. ?#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/36fBeSqxBT
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 18, 2019
The third member of the final grouping, Adam Scott, again putting with the flag in throughout but struggled to get anything going.
Jordan Spieth’s round made for a tough watch as he shot 10-over through the first 10 holes. Among other blemishes this was largely thanks to a triple-bogey at 5 and quadruple-bogey at 10.
Jordan Spieth was 81 feet from the hole for his second shot at 10 and made an 8.
— Will Gray (@WillGrayGC) February 17, 2019
Things not getting any better for Spieth. Makes a snowman (8) at the 10th hole. Now 10 over for the round. pic.twitter.com/TZacLHtAtB
— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) February 17, 2019
Si Woo Kim and Marc Leishman both made final round charges but, in the end, fell just a little short finishing on 12 and 11-under-par respectively.
Onto the WGC Mexico we go.
Genesis Open report: The talking points
Matt Kuchar got his fair share of stick from the fans. If you don’t know why, you can get the full rundown from Alex Perry, while Mark Townsend asks if the American’s reputation will ever recover.
Still, he has the backing of his regular caddie, John Wood:
Matt,his entire family and team have never been anything but generous,inclusive,respectful, and complimentary of me and the job I do for him.I wouldn’t work for someone I didn’t respect, or who didn’t value my opinion. To crucify for one mistake feels wrong. pic.twitter.com/BS1XdDpQdz
— John wood (@Johnwould) February 16, 2019
A handful of peers came out in Kuchar’s defence, too, including Zach Johnson:
— Zach Johnson (@ZachJohnsonPGA) February 16, 2019
Elsewhere, how infuriating is it to watch Holmes play?
JB Holmes has been at the centre of the slow play debate in the not-so distant past and it sure as heck wasn’t a coincidence that he was part of that final grouping which took two hours 45 minutes to complete nine holes.
Stay tuned to National Club Golfer for more on this in the next day or so.
Surely the PGA Tour has to address this once and for all.
Genesis Open report: What the winner had to say
Hear from champ @JBHolmesGolf as he talks about his win at the @GenesisOpen. https://t.co/CTYBbv2pwB
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 18, 2019
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Joe Hughes
Tour editor covering men's golf, women's golf and anything else that involves the word golf, really. The talk is far better than the game, but the work has begun to change that.
