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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

May 13, 2017

J.B. Holmes

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

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THE MODERATOR: I'd like to welcome J.B. Holmes into the interview room. J.B. came into the third round today two strokes back, now you're tied for the lead heading into the final round tomorrow. Talk about your round today, solid 2-under par. Overall thoughts on the day?

JB HOLMES: Yeah, it was an adventurous day for sure. It was very tough out there, made a few shots harder than it needed to be, but putted great and put myself, when I did miss a shot, put it in a situation where I felt like I could get up-and-down and was able to do it most of the time.

It was adventurous for sure.

THE MODERATOR: I noticed that multiple people mentioned how solid your putting was, 25 putts today. What's the conditions of the greens like, and how were you able to kind of pull that off today?

JB HOLMES: I mean, I'm doing the same thing I've done every week, so they're just going in this week. I felt like my stroke -- I putted good last week. I rolled a bunch of putts over the edge for the last two weeks, so I felt like I've been hitting really good putts and hadn't made a whole lot, so this week has been the other way around. I've hit a lot of good putts, and a lot of them's went in. Just been working on my putting stroke and it's been getting better, and I feel like hitting good putts and the speeds of these greens have suited me, and my feel has been good on it. When you start hitting putts where you're aiming and the right speed, you're going to get a few to go in.

Q. Helped my memory here, but you won across the street when you were at Kentucky, right?
JB HOLMES: No, I don't think so.

Q. Did the team win or did you win?
JB HOLMES: It was a long time ago.

Q. It was one of those --
JB HOLMES: I think the team might have won. I don't think I won over there. But you can write it if you want to. (Laughter.)

Q. Are you comfortable in the type of just crazy, swirling, strong winds that this place can produce if the conditions get to a certain point?
JB HOLMES: Well, I have been so far. Yeah, I mean, it's just this golf course has got some quirks to it, and the wind swirls. Sometimes you just got to get lucky and not get that gust or try to read the gusts. It's a lot of guessing. But yeah, I've played out here -- I don't know, I think this is my 11th time playing or something. I've been around it a few times. I mean, they change it every three years, but for the most part it's the same.

Yeah, I feel like I've put up some great rounds here in the past and feel comfortable on this golf course, so hopefully I can go out there tomorrow and put one more round together.

Q. It would seem like since everybody has to play to the same spots that it would take away probably your biggest asset, which would be your length. How do you work around that? You obviously can plod your way along if they put a gun to your head and make you do it.
JB HOLMES: Yeah, nobody had a gun to my head, but yeah, there's a few holes that really don't set up that great for me on this golf course, and it does, it takes the driver out of my hands. I like hitting that thing when I'm playing well. There's some holes that are difficult, but you've got to hit it to the same spot everybody else does and you've got to remember what kind of golf course it is. You know that coming into it and you prepare that way. You know, like I said, I've played here 11 times, so you kind of know how to play it. If you go around and bust driver everywhere, unless you're hitting it on a string, you're going to run out of fairway in a few holes.

Q. When every shot out here gets your full attention, what's the challenge of not letting it mentally exhaust you on a week like this?
JB HOLMES: Well, it's good. I mean, because everything is so hard, you have to be so focused on each shot or it'll jump up and get you. So you can stay present, and that's the main thing. You've just got to go around and hit one shot at a time wherever you hit it and go get that. With the Bermuda rough you can get some squirrelly lies on chips and the ball come out funny. So everybody is going to get some bad breaks, everybody is going to get some bad lies, everybody is going to get a bad bounce, you've just got to deal with it and expect it coming into this, and when it happens, don't let it ruin your day and go on to the next shot, and if you've been playing well, all you can do is hit the shot to the best of your ability and if you get a gust of wind, whatever. There's nothing you can do about that.

Q. That second shot on 18, can you take us through what you saw there, and was it as difficult as it looked?
JB HOLMES: Well, it wasn't easy. You know, I got lucky that it was on the cart path there and I got to take a drop over there, and it was into a hole that trajectory-wise felt pretty good with the 6-iron, so I was very comfortable with that shot, and I had the wind coming off the left, so all I had to do was just cut it. I did have to start it out over the water, but sometimes hitting it through the holes in the trees I grew up doing that a lot, it's a simpler shot, because all you have to do is get it through the hole in the trees I feel like, so I don't have to hit it as far. Yeah, it wasn't easy, but I executed it great and was able to get it on the green and make a par.

Q. As a guy who's had some success the last couple years, what's been your mindset over the last few months as the results have kind of dried up a little bit?
JB HOLMES: You know, I've been working on my swing. I haven't really hit it the way I've wanted to this year, so it's been frustrating for sure, and I've been working hard at it, and it's finally the last three weeks been slowly coming back, and I'm hitting the ball more like I'm used to. For me, that was a pretty big drought to not really hit the ball where I was expecting it to. It was frustrating, and like I said, before that, I felt like I was hitting a lot of good putts, too, they just weren't going in. It's definitely been nice this week to get some good bounces and see some putts go in because the last few months hasn't been exactly bouncing my way.

But it's nice when that happens, and it bounces your way.

Q. Could you just talk to what winning a tournament of this magnitude would mean to you?
JB HOLMES: It would be great. You know, it's a golf tournament. It's a huge event, don't get me wrong, but in the end, it's just golf, and hopefully I can go out there and play well and win tomorrow, and if I do, my life is not really going to change. I'm going to load the car up and go to next week and play next week, and we'll live in the same house and I'm going to drive the same car. Don't get me wrong, I would love to win, and it would be awesome. Such a cool tournament, and to be able to lift that trophy would be amazing, but I'm not going to dwell on everything. If it happens, that's great, and I can think about all that stuff there, but right now, I've still got another round of golf and a lot of things can happen. Looking forward to getting out there tomorrow and playing, playing well. It should be fun, be exciting to be in the last group, and get to play for the chance to win. That's what you're out here for, so it's going to be fun tomorrow.

Q. Speaking of the last group, you're in with Kyle Stanley. Is that a comfortable pairing for you? Are you familiar with Kyle?
JB HOLMES: I'm familiar with Kyle. I haven't played a whole lot with Kyle, but yeah, I know Kyle and played practice rounds with him, and he's a nice guy. I don't see why it would be a problem.

Q. What was the better par, 2 or 18, second shot on 2?
JB HOLMES: 18 was definitely -- over there I just had to chip it out and get up-and-down. It was a par-5, so that one was -- that really wasn't that hard.

Q. What kind of lie did you have over there?
JB HOLMES: It was fine. I mean, I just had to chip it out. It might have looked hard on TV, but that was pretty simple. Of all the shots I hit today, that was one of the simpler ones.

Q. And certainly bogeying 14 was no disgrace because it played the toughest hole today and everything, but would you take one bogey per day every day you ever play out here?
JB HOLMES: I'd take one bogey on every golf course I ever play the rest of my life. I usually can make a bunch of birdies, so if I can just narrow it down to one bogey, then I'm usually in good shape.

Q. Did you hear the guy that yelled at you, you've been in the sand more than David Hasselhoff when you were running through that string of fairway bunkers on the front nine?
JB HOLMES: I didn't catch that one. I hit like four or five in a row. Made par, though.

Q. You blew right through college, through Q-school, obviously, up the road here a ways, and you've kept your card every year. I'm wondering whether you feel sometimes you get overlooked in the grand scheme of things as far as guys who played out here and have been legit varsity level players over the years?
JB HOLMES: Yeah, I mean --

Q. Underappreciated, I'll put it that way.
JB HOLMES: Well, I get to play golf for a living, that's pretty awesome, so whether I get a lot of media attention or not. Yeah, it was nice to get the picks the last couple years. I kind of felt like a stretch on a couple of the teams that I really play well in that format and felt like I got looked over a few times. You know, so the Presidents Cup was a bummer, because I got the call that I didn't make it, and then felt like I deserved to be on that team. And then unfortunately for Jim and fortunately for me, Jim hurt his wrist and I was able to get on that team and played well. Played really well over there in Korea. So yeah, there was a few times that you feel like you get looked over a little bit, but it's always -- you fix that by playing better. I mean, that's how it is out here.

But you know, I've had a great career. I've been out here, like you said, 11 years or 12, I don't know. I've got to play a lot of awesome places, see a lot of cool things and win some tournaments. Not a lot of people get to do that. It's been amazing, and hopefully tomorrow I can go out and have another amazing day.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, everyone. Appreciate the time, J.B.

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