J.B. Holmes doesn’t have the look of a world-class marathoner, but he certainly earned that distinction Sunday by outlasting the field and surviving the elements in a daylong trial at Riviera Country Club.
Holmes, after enduring 33 holes over a course that at times seemed to measure out at 26.2 miles, shot 68-70 in his final two rounds to finish the rain-delayed Genesis Open at 14-under 270.
He defeated Justin Thomas, who had entered the fourth round with a four-shot lead over Holmes and Adam Scott, by one stroke. Thomas, who after three impeccable rounds seemed destined to coast to victory, uncharacteristically unraveled on the greens in the final round with a four-over 75 after having shot 66-65-65 in the first three rounds.
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“I knew it was going to be very difficult out there to shoot a low score, so I probably needed a little help from Justin,” Holmes said.
“I made a couple birdies early and kind of let him feel a little bit of pressure”
Sunday’s completion of the third round began at 6:45 a.m. with all players on the course and bundled against temperatures in the 40s. The fourth round got underway at about 9:30, with the lead group of Holmes, Thomas and Scott finally teeing off about 11:30. The final group was on the course for well over five hours after experiencing brief midday showers and being buffeted by fiercely gusting winds throughout the afternoon.
“Man, it was really tough on the back side,” said Holmes, who carries a reputation as an extremely deliberate player. “The wind was really blowing hard.”
The two Kentuckians, 36-year-old Holmes and 25-year-old Thomas, became locked in a virtual match-play duel in the final round, as Holmes assumed the rock-steady countenance that Thomas had displayed for three rounds. Scott fell off the pace by shooting a 76 to finish tied for seventh.
Bogeys by Thomas on three of the first five holes while Holmes shaved two strokes off par closed the gap, and once Thomas’ putter began to fail him, Holmes was on his way to the fifth victory of his career and first since April of 2015.
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“It was very difficult,” Holmes said. “It was a challenge just with having to get up at 4:40 the last couple days and play 27 one day and 11 holes one day and 33 holes one day. It was a tough week.”
Thomas suffered his first three-putt in 190 holes on the short par-four 10th, then on No. 13 four-putted from 64 feet and followed that with another three-putt on 14. That put him two shots behind Holmes. He closed the gap to one after that but could never grab a piece of the lead.
“I really struggled putting in that wind out there,” Thomas said. “It unfortunately just kind of showed a flaw in my game.”
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J.B. Holmes hugs his son Tucker and wife Erica after winning on the 18th hole the Genesis Open golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Justin Thomas hits above a bunker on the second hole during fourth round of the Genesis Open golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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J.B. Holmes, Justin Thomas, and Adam Scott, walk up a hill on the 18th hole during fourth round of the Genesis Open golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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J.B. Holmes tries to hit out of a bunker on the seventh hole during fourth round of the Genesis Open golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Tiger Woods tees off at No. 10 during the fourth round of the Genesis Open.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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Phil Mickelson tees off at the 10th hole during fourth round of the Genesis Open on Sunday.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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J.B. Holmes tees off on the 18th hole during the final round of the Genesis Open on Sunday.
(Ryan Kang / Associated Press)
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Tiger Woods puts at No. 9 during the third round of the Genesis Open on Sunday.
(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)
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J.B. Holmes holds the winner’s trophy on the 18th green after the conclusion of the Genesis Open golf tournament at Riviera Country Club.
(Ryan Kang / Associated Press)
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Tiger Woods watches his tee shot on the 11th hole during his third round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Phil Mickelson is greeted by fans as he walks to the practice tee before his third round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Adam Scott watches his tee shot on the 2nd hole during his third round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club. He birdied the hole.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Jim Furyk chips onto the the second green from a hillside above the green during the third round of the Genesis Open.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Rory McIlroy hits his tee shot on the second hole during his third round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Adam Scott putts for eagle on the first green during his third round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Co-leader Justin Thomas hits his tee shot on the 2nd hole during his second round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Co-leader Adam Scott waits to putt under an umbrella during a downpour on the 16th hole during his second round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Co-leader Justin Thomas puts his jacket on his head during a downpour on the 2nd hole during his second round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans take selfies as Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas walk by during the second day of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Rory McIlroy hits out of the green side bunker on the 11th hole during his first round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Matt Kuchar hits his tee shot on the 10th hole during his first round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Co-leader Justin Thomas hits his approach shot onto the second green during the second day of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Tiger Woods lines up his putt on the 14th green during the second day of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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PACIFIC PALISADES, CA - FEBRUARY 15, 2019: Tiger Woods hits his tee shot on the 18th hole during his first round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Spectators stand in the rain as they wait for Tiger Woods to tee off on the 18th hole during the second day of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Tiger Woods waits to hit out of the rough on the 17th hole during the second day of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Co-leader Justin Thomas chips out of the rough on the 18th hole during the second day of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Co-leader Jordan Spieth hits out of the rough on the 13th hole during the first round of the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Last year’s winner, Bubba Watson, hits his tee shot on the 15th hole during the first round of the Genesis Open.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Adam Long hits out of the green side bunker on the 9th hole during the first round.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Phil Mickelson hits out of the rough on the 11th hole during the first round.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Fans react as co-leader Jordan Spieth just misses a birdie on the 18th hole during the first round.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A caddy juggles oranges as he takes refuge in a snack hut with the sign guy during a downpour in the first round.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Si Woo Kim made the most aggressive move up the leaderboard Sunday. Kim, the youngest winner of the Tour Championship at 21 in 2017, got within two shots of the lead at one point by shooting a 68-66 in the final two rounds. He finished alone in third at 12 under, one shot behind Thomas, after starting the third round tied for 19th.
Rory McIlroy could never quite overcome his opening-round 72. He holed a bunker shot on No. 16 to get within two of the lead, but ran out of holes. He shot 69-69 Sunday to finish at 11 under, tied for fourth with Marc Leishman, who shot 67-68.
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Tiger Woods’ hope for a miraculous Sunday and his first victory in this event in 13 tries essentially ended on No. 7, his 16th hole of the third round, when he drove into a fairway bunker and bogeyed to fall nine strokes off the lead. He did shoot 65 in the third round, thanks primarily to his five-under start in the first four holes late Saturday. But even if he had kept a torrid pace, he was simply too far behind to make up the difference. He closed with a 72 that included four bogeys in a six-hole stretch, and tied for 15th place at six under.
“Yeah, I got tired,” Woods said after playing 29 holes Sunday.
“I definitely felt it today. I was at 10 [under] and slipped four shots coming in.”
Jordan Spieth entered the final round tied for fourth at nine under but moved dramatically and quickly out of the high-rent district of the leaderboard. He birdied the first hole, then in the next nine holes had two double bogeys, two bogeys and a nightmarish quadruple-bogey eight on the short par-four 10th hole after needing four shots to get out of the back bunker. He shot 81 and finished tied for 51st.
Thomas said he was proud that the tournament had come down to two Kentuckians.
“I’ve known J.B. since I was 7 or 8 or 9 years old,” Thomas said. “He was always so great to me. He would always pull me in the ropes in practice rounds in PGAs and stuff like that. I mean, that’s stuff I never forget.
“I just never thought, you know, 15 years later he would beat my … at Riviera. That was a bummer.”
Mike James is a former Sports editor of the Los Angeles Times. A native of suburban Washington, D.C., James came to The Times from the Hartford Courant in 1985, took a hiatus from the print world in 2000 to work as coordinating producer at FoxSports.com and managing editor of the nightly news report on Fox Sports Net. He returned to The Times in 2002 and, after three years as deputy Sports editor, became Sports editor in 2009.