Holmes has lead at Blue Monster
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J.B. Holmes never liked the old Blue Monster at Doral because he thought it was too easy for a World Golf Championship.
He said this with a straight face Thursday after a 10-under 62 that tied the tournament record at the Cadillac Championship, gave him a four-shot lead and left the rest of this world-class field to wonder just how he managed.
“I was able to hit the shots where I envisioned and hit good shots, and today the putter was on,” Holmes said. “Put that combination together, you do everything pretty good, you’re going to shoot a good score.”
He made it sound as easy as it looked. Except that Trump National Doral wasn’t all that easy for everyone else.
Rory McIlroy again felt tentative with his swing and shot 40 on his opening nine holes before finishing without a par on his last six holes – an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys that allowed him to salvage a 73. The world’s No. 1 player has shot 73-74-73 in his three rounds in Florida this year.
Phil Mickelson shot 74 and failed to make a birdie for the first time in 186 rounds on the PGA Tour, dating to the final day at Olympic Club in the 2012 U.S. Open.
“Ten under? You’re joking,” Shane Lowry said after a hard-fought 71.
Ryan Moore was hanging with him until he hit his tee shot into the water on the par-5 18th hole and made double bogey. He still had a 66.
“It was a very fair test of golf,” Moore said. “I mean, it’s difficult, but you can make some birdies.”
Dustin Johnson ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine and was at 68, along with Alexander Levy of France and Rickie Fowler, who thought his round was solid. “To shoot 68 in some tough conditions on a tough golf course and be six back, wouldn’t really expect that,” Fowler said.
Good start for Hubbard: PGA Tour rookie Mark Hubbard closed with a birdie in windy conditions Thursday for a one-stroke lead in the Puerto Rico Open.
Hubbard opened with a 4-under 68 at Trump International Golf Club-Puerto Rico. He birdied Nos. 4, 5 and 6, dropped a stroke on the par-3 eighth and finished with a birdie on the par-4 ninth.
Chris Smith, Billy Mayfair and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo were tied for second.
David Duval, Jonathan Byrd and Alex Cejka were in the group at 70.
The 43-year-old Duval is winless since the 2001 British Open.