04holmeS’;comeBack;delayed
J.b. holmes’ comeback from brain surgery was postponed last week when
the pga tour’s longest driver called tournament host greg norman to with-
draw from the franklin templeton shootout. holmes pulled out because he
wasn’t competitively ready for the team event, telling Golf World, “i’m not a
guy who likes to quit, but physically i haven’t been able to walk 18 holes and
with five rounds of that [including practice], i don’t know where i would be.”
doctors at Johns hopkins medical center operated on holmes for chiari
malformation on sept. 1, but didn’t give him clearance to hit drivers until the
week before the shootout. in his first practice round holmes said he ran out
of energy playing the back tees out of a cart at isleworth cc. unable to work
out and on medication following surgery, he was also uncomfortable being
20 pounds heavier and with a clubhead speed 15 miles per hour slower than
usual. scott stallings replaced holmes as kenny perry’s partner. they went
on to finish t- 6 as holmes watched from his home in windermere, fla.
holmes, who finished t- 2 with perry at the shootout in 2009, hopes to re-
turn to the pga tour on the west coast in late January. “i’m just not ready,”
holmes said. “it stinks to say that, but when you get right down to it, that’s
as simple as it gets.” —Tim Rosaforte
david cannon/getty images
cover // contents // 10 things // european tour // pga tour //eQuipment // tim rosaforte
