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SPORTS Monday 18 February 2019

J.B. Holmes rallies to win a marathon finish at Riviera

17th after Holmes three- one, but I definitely felt it to- from six shots behind.
putted for par from 30 feet. day. Wind, cold. I was at 10 Si Woo Kim had a 66, the
He had one last chance to (under) and I slipped four low score of the final round,
force a playoff, but his 20- shots coming in. That’s the and finished third. Rory Mc-
foot birdie putt broke off to way it goes.” Ilroy almost got back in
the right. He said he wouldn’t touch the game when he holed
“I struggled putting in the his clubs on Monday as he a bunker shot on the 16th
wind out there,” Thomas goes from cold air at sea to get within two shots, but
said. “Unfortunately, it level to Mexico City next he failed to birdie the par-
showed a flaw in my game. week. Holmes and Thom- 5 17th and was fooled by
It was obviously very dif- as weren’t the only ones the wind in making bogey
ficult. J.B. won. He played who struggled on greens on the final hole for a 69.
great. It’s always a bum- that became increasingly He tied for fourth with Marc
mer to hand a tournament. bumpy from so much golf, Leishman (68).
I feel like I should have won and wind. Adam Scott No one had a tougher time
that thing.” was right in the hunt until than Jordan Spieth, whose
Tiger Woods shot 65 to fin- he missed six consecutive final round included a
ish his morning third round, putts from under 10 feet birdie, par, bogey, double
though he was never in that dropped him out of bogey, triple bogey and
range of winning. Woods contention quickly. quadruple bogey, the lat-
closed with a 72 in the af- Holmes finished at 14-un- ter on the 10th hole when
ternoon, and tied for 15th. der 270 for his first PGA Tour he hit four shots out of bun-
“I got tired,” Woods said. “I victory since the 2015 Hous- kers. He shot 81, his second-
don’t know if I’m the only ton Open, where he rallied highest score as a pro.q

J.B. Holmes poses with his trophy on the 18th green after winning
the Genesis Open golf tournament at Riviera Country Club
on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, in the Pacific Palisades area of Los
Angeles.
Associated Press
By DOUG FERGUSON that made it tough to hole
AP Golf Writer putts. There were three
LOS ANGELES (AP) — J.B. two-shot swings on the
Holmes rallied from a four- back nine, all because of
shot deficit in the final putting.
round and won a mara- The biggest moment was
thon finish Sunday in the on the 13th hole, when
Genesis Open for his first Holmes was one shot be-
victory in three years and a hind and made a 12-footer
trip back to the Masters. for par. Thomas, who had
Holmes closed with a lagged his birdie putt from
1-under 70, and that was 65 feet to 8 feet from the
enough to overcome Justin cup, three-putted from
Thomas, who took 19 putts there for a double bogey
on the back nine at Riviera to fall one shot behind.
— three of them from 8 feet He three-putted the next
when he lost the lead for hole to fall back further,
good — and shot 75. made an 8-foot birdie on
“I knew it was going to be the 16th to get with one
very difficult to shoot a but couldn’t catch up.
low score,” Holmes said. “I Holmes had his problems,
needed some help from too. Right when he took
Justin.” the lead for the first time —
They played 34 holes be- a birdie on the par-4 10th
cause of a seven-hour rain and a three-putt bogey
delay at the start of the from long range by Thomas
tournament Thursday, and — Holmes turned birdie into
that wasn’t even the worst a shocking bogey when he
of it. The final day featured three-putted from 3 feet.
a wild shift in weather, from Thomas, who looked sharp
sunshine in the morning to as ever in the morning in his
complete 16 holes of the round of 65 to build a big
third round, brief rain when lead, missed a 6-foot birdie
they teed off in the final putt that would have tied
round and wicked wind for the lead at the par-5