|
 Holmes came from six strokes behind in the final round with a
sizzling eight-under-par 64 that included nine birdies in the first
12 holes at the Golf Club of Houston in Humble.
Three hours after posting a 16-under 272 total, he made a tap-in par
at the second extra hole, the par-four 18th, to outlast fellow
American Johnson Wagner, who missed a five-foot par putt.
Overnight leader Jordan Spieth was eliminated at the first extra
hole.
Holmes collected $1.188 million for his fourth PGA Tour victory. The
33-year-old had already qualified for the Masters, the first major
of the year starting on Thursday. He has played the tournament once.
"It was just a great day for me and it ended good too," Holmes told
reporters.
"I didn't tee off expecting to win today. It's a nice surprise. I
started out with five birdies. After that I thought I had a chance."
Wagner, who played on a sponsor exemption, needed to win to punch
his ticket to Augusta, and he gave himself a chance when he sank a
25-foot putt at the 72nd hole to join the playoff.
“Birdieing 18 to even get into the playoff was pretty incredible,”
he said. “I’m pretty bummed right now, but a lot of good stuff going
on.”
Spieth missed a chance to enter the Masters as the world number two,
but remained the hottest player in the game, after finishing first,
second and second in his past three starts.
The 21-year-old was eliminated from the playoff after flinching on a
greenside bunker shot, a mistake he initially blamed on a noise from
the gallery, before backtracking slightly.
[to top of second column] |
“I heard something, or maybe it was just me,” he said. “It’s not
really an excuse but I had a really good lie and I just got down
into the sand a lot quicker than I normally do there and caught it
fat."
Spieth said the past month of being constantly in contention was an
ideal preparation for the Masters, where he tied for second last
year.
“I feel as prepared as I think I could be. I felt more and more
comfortable with more and more pressure, and that gives me a lot of
confidence going into Augusta, where you probably have the most
pressure anywhere.”
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina, editing by Gene
Cherry)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
