Life-threatening surgery has meant JB Holmes puts his family first

JB Holmes bounces back after brain surgery.

JB Holmes turns 33 today. You may think beating the soon-to-be crowned Masters champion, Jordan Spieth, in a play-off for the Shell Houston Open at the start of this month was an early birthday present.

But for the man from Campbellsville, Kentucky, the greatest gift came four years ago when surgeons saved his career.

Vertigo issues came to a head at the 2011 PGA Championship when he was forced to withdraw after an opening round 80.

A complex condition was diagnosed and brain surgery was the only way of rectifying it.

But after coming through that, a month later complications set in and JB had to go under the knife yet again.

Remarkably, he was back in action four months later, and, despite elbow and ankle injuries, his career has gone from strength to strength. He’s now 12th on the World Rankings, his highest-ever placing.

JB is philosophical when he reflects on what he has come through.

“Well, I look back on it now and in a way it was difficult, and in a way it was helpful,” he says.

“It has made me appreciate what I have and the opportunities that I have.

”Physically, it took a little bit longer to get back to where I was, and I found that frustrating.

“It wore me down a bit at times psychologically, but it has helped my golf game in the long run, no doubt about it.”

Holmes was 249th in the World Rankings when he won the Wells Fargo Championship in May last year to keep his playing card on the US Tour.

With his Houston victory, where he defeated Jordan Spieth and Johnson Wagner in a play-off, plus two runners-up finishes and another two top 10 performances, Holmes is very much on the rise.

He will be one of the favourites for this week’s WGC Cadillac Match Play Championship in San Francisco because he regularly bombs his drives well over 300 yards, and he admits it gives him an edge when the head-to-head format is in play.

“I’m going to hit it past most of my opponents, so I have the opportunity of seeing what they do with their second shot,” he points out.

“That can be a huge advantage because you then know whether you have to be aggressive, or use other options.

“I wish they would play a lot more match play tournaments, but I understand why they don’t.

“It’s not always the case that the person who has played the best golf of the week emerges as the winner.

“Some matches are won by a guy playing badly, but his opponent plays worse.

“On the other hand, a guy can shoot a 67 and lose because he ran up against a player who was red hot and shot an even lower score.”

Holmes’ health scare four years ago has left him a completely different character to the normal aspiring player.

Not for him the lofty goals you normally hear in the locker room.

“I set goals every day like just going out and being pleasant to people and do my work because I know what I can achieve,” he points out.

“I could set other goals, like ‘Do I want to be on the Ryder Cup?’; ‘Do I want to win a Major?’; ‘Do I want to win this week in San Francisco?’.

“Of course I want to be successful, but winning Majors is not everything and if I never win another golf tournament, I’ll still be able to enjoy life and my family.”