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SHELL HOUSTON OPENApril 5, 2015J.B. HolmesHUMBLE, TEXAS DOUG MILNE: We'd like to welcome the 2015 Shell Houston Open champion, J.B. Holmes. Congratulations on your fourth career PGA TOUR victory. With your win here at the Golf Club of Houston this week, moved you to No. 3 in the FedExCup standings. Obviously an impressive week capped off by an incredible day. J.B. HOLMES: First of all, just thank God for giving me the opportunity to come out here and play well today and just -- it was just awesome. Perfect day for me. Had a lot of great shots, lot of good putts. Just a great day for me. It ended good, too. So it was a nice day. DOUG MILNE: With that, we'll open it up and take some questions. Q. J.B., I know you're a Kentucky Wildcat fan. How disappointed were you last night? Were you determined to go out and avenge their honor this morning? J.B. HOLMES: You can look at it that way. It was tough. They played a good game. That shot clock violation that they didn't -- there's a couple things I can't believe they don't review. It could have been a lot different game if they take that away. But it was a good game. Wisconsin played great. It was a fun game to watch. We had a chances. Q. Were you glued to the TV? J.B. HOLMES: I was watching it. Q. Of course, not too many people thought that you were going to be a guy in the hunt this morning. Do you think you were going to be a guy in the hunt? J.B. HOLMES: Take it one shot at a time. I'm trying to do the best I can.  I started out with five birdies. After that I felt like I had a chance, yeah. Q. Is that the best round of golf you've had ever or at least -- J.B. HOLMES: No, not even the best round of golf I had this year. Q. Tell us about that one. J.B. HOLMES: 62 at Miami was by far the best round ever. Q. When you posted 16, what was your mindset? Did you feel like that was going to be good enough? J.B. HOLMES: I was hoping. I didn't really know. At the beginning of the day I -- I thought it would be closer to 18. Once I got -- once I got to 18, I had the birdie putt. I thought if I could make that to get to 17, that would probably do it. But I thought 16 was out there and couple guys came up and got it. Q. How much of the close calls fueled you this season and this week from the other second place finishes? J.B. HOLMES: I'm trying to win every week. It's not fueled me or -- those are great weeks when I got runner-up. They were close calls. Anytime you get a chance to win, I just looked at it as a great week, and I got to keep getting up there and get in the position to have a chance to win. Q. When you saw Wagner and Spieth hit their shots to tie it up with you, is there kind of an extra adrenaline rush for the playoff? J.B. HOLMES: I wasn't watching. I was on the range. You know, it was actually -- after Wagner made his birdie, they said he made his birdie, then I was like, well, it's a playoff. So it didn't really matter what Jordan did. So I wasn't surprised either way. I don't even know where he was, but they said he had a pretty good up and down. Still playoff, you still got to play well. So two or one. Q. How did you spend a lot of your time after you finished your round before the playoff? J.B. HOLMES: I was watching the golf. I got something to eat and watched the golf. When Jordan got to -- I saw Jordan hit his tee shot I think on 17, then I went to the range and just did a warm-up like I was doing for a round. Q. What's been the biggest difference for you this season? J.B. HOLMES: Just mentally. I feel like I've been able to control it better, kind of let go a little bit and not get in my way as much. Just focus on one shot at time. I know you say that, but really it's that simple and that difficult. Just trying to stay present. Just mainly do that. The things I can control. I can go out everyday and have fun. I can do my routines properly. And I can try to stay present the best I can. And those are my three goals every day. Whatever the score it, the score is. But if I do those three things, I consider it a successful day. Q. How long have you been doing the extended closing your eyes before shots, is that more for relaxation or visualization? J.B. HOLMES: I'm trying to take a deep breath and stay in the moment, not let your mind race. Just sometimes say a little prayer. Just trying to relax. Q. Was there any extra indecision on the approach shots to 18 in the playoff? J.B. HOLMES: No. Your mind wants to race a little bit more there. My mind wasn't quiet. I backed off on that one. Again, just trying to stay present and just do my routine. Q. You said this wasn't the best round that you had or even for the year. For that front-9, the best you've ever had? J.B. HOLMES: That was a pretty good front-9 (laughter). Yeah, that was one of my best front-9s. Probably my best front-9 on the Tour. Q. After these exciting moments, how would you like to approach next week? J.B. HOLMES: I'm just going to approach it the same way I was planning to. I'm going to get there tonight and do the practice schedule that I had set up and just do the same things I do every week. Q. Considering where you were when the day started, how does it feel right now seeing this trophy in front of you? Just soak it in, you're the champ. J.B. HOLMES: I mean, it's a great feeling, you know. Every time we tee it up, that's what we're trying to do, we're trying to win. Like I said, I didn't really focus on the results at any point in the round. I was just trying to do the best I could do each hole, and at the end of the round, then you add it up. I didn't tee off expecting to win today, but, you know, it's a nice surprise (laughter). Q. It's been seven years since you were at Augusta. What do you remember about playing the Masters and how do you feel like Augusta National fits you? J.B. HOLMES: I played there earlier this week, so I'm looking forward to it. It's such an amazing place, and just to be able to be in that tournament and all the history and just to be able to walk around that place is pretty amazing. I'm really excited to get there and play. My game is in good shape right now. I'm looking forward to it. Q. On the second playoff hole, did you hit driver? J.B. HOLMES: Yeah. I didn't hit my first one very good. I hit my second one really good. They were both straight, though, so it's good. Q. Did the conditions on 18 change from the time you played it in regulation -- J.B. HOLMES: Yeah, it was a lot easier in the playoff. Q. Can you elaborate on that? J.B. HOLMES: I had to hit a 3-iron in the first time. I hit 6-iron in the last time. It was raining a little bit when I started. It turned more across in the playoff. So yeah, it wasn't quite as difficult -- it was still hard, but it wasn't quite as difficult as it was the first time around. Q. Did 59 ever enter your mind? J.B. HOLMES: No. Again, I was just trying to play one hole at a time. Shoot 59, great. I didn't need 59. I just wanted to have enough to win. Q. How long have you been working with John Murphy? J.B. HOLMES: Jim Murphy? My second year with Jim. DOUG MILNE: Anybody else? All right. Real quick, if you wouldn't mind just run us through your birdies. You had you had quite a few. 1 through 5, 7, 8, 11 and 12. J.B. HOLMES: 1 I hit my tee shot a little bit right. Great wedge shot in there to about 6 feet, made a putt. Hit a good tee shot in the fairway on 2. Hit an 8-iron just right of it, landed pin high and rolled about 15 feet back and made it. Next hole, pushed my 3-iron into the rough. Had a tough shot, but I knew where the pin was. I wanted to keep it little bit right. And I hit a great wedge and landed just one short and bounced up. I made about an 8-footer, 8 or 9-footer. Then par-5, hit my tee shot into the bunker, laid up to about 113. Hit a wedge in there about 3 feet. 5 I hit drive right down the middle. Had like 140 hole. Just a little three-quarter 9-iron. It lipped out. DOUG MILNE: 7, par-3. J.B. HOLMES: Hit an 8-iron right at the flag. Hit the flag stick, rolled about 15 feet away and then I made that. 8, hit my drive over the bunker, pulled my 5-iron. Decent bunker slot to 12 feet and made that. DOUG MILNE: 11 and 12. J.B. HOLMES: 11 pulled my drive -- it's a theme. Hit my drive left, then I hit a wedge in there to about 8 feet and made that. And then what was the next one? DOUG MILNE: You got 12. J.B. HOLMES: Both the same. I hit them left. DOUG MILNE: Your only bogey was 16. J.B. HOLMES: Yeah. Just little indecisive maybe about the club there and just kind of came out of it and then it plugged in the bunker. Hit a really good shot, I -- I think it would have been really close, but it hit the sprinkler head and kicked right.  Hit a good putt and made bogey. Q. When that happens, hitting that sprinkler head, do you have to just say really bad luck, forget about it? J.B. HOLMES: Well, I mean, you can look at it either way. On I think 12, 13, I hit it left and hit a cart and stopped. It's just golf. Sometimes you're going to get some good bounces, sometimes you're going to get bad bounces. You got to have a little bit of luck. You got to play well and have a little bit of luck out here. It's golf. It's -- some weird things can happen. You just try to go to the next shot and do the best you can. Like I said, trying to control the stuff I can control. I can't control that. I hit a good shot, hit a sprinkler head. What can I do about that? Q. You strung together five holes in Miami like those? J.B. HOLMES: I birdied four in a row in Miami. Q. How do you compare the two rounds in terms of quality? J.B. HOLMES: This was a great round, but I feel like the one in Miami with the 62 in Miami was significantly better golf-wise. Timing-wise this one was better, but 62 in Miami was pretty ridiculous. Q. On that course. J.B. HOLMES: Yeah. DOUG MILNE: J.B., congratulations on your fourth career win here at the Shell Houston Open.  J.B. HOLMES: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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