Holmes & Allenby Take Lead in Players

J.B. Holmes and Robert Allenby carded 6-under-par 66s to share the first-round lead in the $9.5 million Players Championship. Golf's so-called "fifth major" is being played at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Holmes's scorecard was spotless with six birdies and no bogeys. Allenby, a native of Australia, was almost as clean Thursday, with seven birdies and a lone bogey on the par-3 eighth hole.

Holmes was pleased with his opening effort. "It was a fun day, one of those rounds where everything was going pretty good, didn't have any - wasn't in too much trouble at any point, and it's kind of one of those rounds where it's not easy but it kind of felt pretty easy," the long-hitting 28-year-old from Kentucky said. (See below for Holmes's entire post-round interview.)

A passel of players were another stroke back at 67 on a day when the Pete Dye-designed course was amenable to good scoring chances. Among that group tied for second is Heath Slocum, who said after his round: "I played very well. Took care of some scoring opportunities earlier. I think the course was as playable and score-able as I've seen maybe ever. And for me, I took care of the par-5s, which was very key. And made some putts. So the shorter holes, I made some good wedge shots. Made some birdies and minimized the mistakes, a couple bogies, but good, solid start."

Another one is Ben Crane, who took advantage of the rain-softened course. "We had more opportunities today to make birdies certainly because the rain last night, and the greens were receptive," the Oregon native said. "So hitting 5 and 6-irons in that are only bouncing forward four or five paces certainly allows - makes some of those back pins accessible. You fly the ball almost back to the hole. I was in a fairway a lot today and was able to really - the hole that comes to mind is really 6 there - I guess 5. 5 normally is really kind of harder to access that back pin high and only went a couple paces past the hole. You start realizing that you really want to start playing aggressively into the greens today."

Allenby was another player who took advantage of the conditions. "Greens were a little bit slow out there, definitely quite soft after the rain that we've had the last couple of days," he said. "Definitely made it very accessible, some of those flags. But I'm sure - I think with the sweaty conditions that we've got, very humid, greens are probably so soft most of the week, I don't see them drying out too much. Maybe come Sunday they might. Look, overall, I'm very happy with the start, just happy to be amongst it and looking forward to the next three days."

Phil Mickelson had a pretty solid round with four birdies and two bogeys for a 2-under 70. He's tied for 37th. "Shooting 70 today isn't the round that you want," commented the reigning Masters' champion. "We came out in perfect conditions. There wasn't much wind, the greens were receptive, and there were a lot of low scores.

"But the reason I think this was a good day for me is I just didn't have it. I let a lot of shots slide on the course today around the greens. Had a 6-iron and a couple par-5s that I didn't take advantage of and made pars, and yet I was able to shoot a couple under par. So tomorrow if I can come out and get hot and shoot something in the mid-60s, I'll can get back in the tournament."

Other notables included Tiger Woods, who was cruising along at 3-under par before carding a bogey on the par-4 finishing hole. After missing the cut last week in the Quail Hollow Championship, Woods said his swing didn't feel "too bad. I've only played in three tournaments in seven months and it takes awhile to get the swing back."

Kenny Perry, who turns 50 in August, was one of the players tied for second at 67. Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington had a disappointing 1-over 73. Rory McIlroy, coming off his first win on the PGA Tour last week, shot a 1-over 73 as well.

After his round, Holmes met with reporters for the following interview session.

MODERATOR: J.B. Holmes, welcome into the interview room after the first round of the Players Championship. An opening round of 6-under 66, bogey-free. You look exhausted. Just talk about your day. Obviously pretty hard work out there.

J.B. HOLMES: Yeah, it was a fun day, one of those rounds where everything was going pretty good, didn't have any -- wasn't in too much trouble at any point, and it's kind of one of those rounds where it's not easy but it kind of felt pretty easy.

MODERATOR: Anywhere that you feel like you managed to keep some momentum going?

J.B. HOLMES: Yeah, on 10, I hit a little flier on 10 and went over the green. I really was in a spot where you just shouldn't and couldn't get up-and-down. I hit a really good shot to about 15 or 20 feet and actually made the putt for par. So that was probably the -- kind of keep it going. I was 3-under through that point and just made two birdies. So just kind of kept it going.

Q. Did you get some more work in with the Stocktons last week? I saw you talking to them outside.

J.B. HOLMES: We did some short game work. The week before that I went down with Killen, working with Killen, and he really got me hitting the ball better. The short game stuff was already there, but I wasn't hitting the ball very good this year. Went and got my swing fixed. I'm hitting the ball well now, and yes, I worked with them on some short game stuff last week and touched up some stuff on that.

Q. Are you using the short putter or the belly?

J.B. HOLMES: Short putter.

Q. You were rolling it pretty good there earlier in the year.

J.B. HOLMES: Yep, same putter, so short putter and just hitting it a little bit better now.

Q. How many drivers did you hit today, and from the time you first started playing in this tournament, did you ever feel like this course restricted what you could do off the tee?

J.B. HOLMES: Oh, for sure, yeah. I don't hit very many drivers out here at all. I hit five today, probably could have hit four. I mean, four is kind of in the plan. Maybe with certain winds, maybe max it out, it may be seven. That would be the absolute most I would hit out here. But yeah, hardly ever hit it out here. There's a lot of holes where I could, but it pinches up in the area where my ball lands, so it's easier to hit a shorter club and you have a bigger fairway. I could take advantage on some holes, but it's just so tight it doesn't really make any sense.

Q. Are you going to make the accommodations required in your game or the modifications to be able to go out there and compete out there on this course?

J.B. HOLMES: Well, yeah, I mean, that's what I did today.

Q. That's what I mean.

J.B. HOLMES: I mean, I didn't hit 10 drivers today. That's what I did today. Why would I change anything? I shot 6-under. I'm going to back off and hit it in the fairway, how the course is supposed to be played.

Q. And since it takes the driver out of your hands, what do you feel like you do well that could enable you to compete out here?

J.B. HOLMES: I mean, I'm on Tour. I'm not that bad a player. I'm pretty good with my irons. I'm putting good this year. I really haven't hit the ball as good this year. I've hit my driver like crap. I really haven't hit my driver at all this year. I'm hitting my irons good now and I'm putting well. I've really putted well this year.

Q. Did you try to drive 12 today?

J.B. HOLMES: No, no. Won't do it. It's a bad play.

Q. Because it's just -

J.B. HOLMES: I mean, if you do hit it 330 in the air and you land it, the green slopes away from you, so it'll hit and kick over and it's a tough up-and-down. And that's if you hit it perfect. If you don't hit it perfect, you could hit it in one of those shorter bunkers and then you've got a 40-yard bunker shot. And to hit a hybrid or 3-wood and wedge it on, you can make birdie just as easy that way and not have to worry about getting in trouble.

Q. Did you notice all the times you were in the Bermuda, did the grooves have any effect on the shot out or is your club head speed so fast that -

J.B. HOLMES: Yeah, Bermuda jumps, but I didn't have to change irons. I've been playing V-grooves since I've been out on Tour, so I didn't have to change my irons. So I'm playing the same irons I did last year. The only thing I had to change was my wedges. I'm pretty used to coming out of the Bermuda with the V-grooves and the ball jumping a little bit. Yeah, out of the Bermudagrass with the V-grooves, the ball will definitely jump a little bit.

Q. How does it feel to come out and shoot 66 in the first round of the Players Championship at such a difficult course as it is today?

J.B. HOLMES: I mean, it's always great to get off to a good -- it's a great tournament, so to get off to a good start. And like I said, today was one of those days where you didn't have much wind and the greens were receptive. You don't get that very much during this tournament. So to get a day with not much wind and the greens holding a little bit, it's good to be able to put up good a score because you never know. The wind could pick up and blow 30 and dry the greens out and 66 could almost be an impossible score. So it was good that on a day that you could score to put up a good score.

Q. Is it a little more gratifying for you since I think the general public perception is you go out there with the howitzer and bash, like Phoenix, and just blow it down there and use tactics to think your way around a golf course where Fred Funk has won because he puts it there and not very -- not a one-trick pony, I guess?

J.B. HOLMES: Yeah, the public always assumes that all you do is hit drivers, all I do is hit drivers. You don't keep your card by hitting drivers out here all the time. So you've really got to work your way around. Even last week I didn't hit that many drivers. To be honest with you, not too many golf courses on Tour I can hit that many drivers. I hit a lot of 3-woods out here and hybrids off the tees just because, like I said, a lot of golf courses it pinches in or just not really acceptable to my length. Like Harbour Town obviously is a really short golf course. I didn't even put a driver in the bag that week.

Q. Really?

J.B. HOLMES: Yeah, there's nowhere to hit it.

Q. What did you put in?

J.B. HOLMES: I added a hybrid, like a 15-degree hybrid that went a little bit further. So it didn't -- I mean, one year I was playing there, and on No. 16 I hit one 360 down the middle and I was so close to the green I had to hit a wedge to lay up because I was so close to the trees. There's no holes to take any advantage, and all the par-5s I can hit 3-wood except 16 and get there in two. So I hit a lot of 3-woods out here. I hit more 3-woods probably than I do drivers off tees.

Q. As a rule?

J.B. HOLMES: For the most part. They're about the same.

Q. Maybe you and some of the other guys who hit it a long way and that's your strength, do you ever get angry because do you ever feel like people are ganging up on you? The Tour grows rough and narrows fairways, and purists are talking about you've got to dial back the equipment and dial back the balls?

J.B. HOLMES: A little bit. It seems like a lot of the talk is -- they're talking about ten guys. We've got to make the course longer and we've got to grow the rough, and these guys are hitting it so far, and they're really talking about ten guys. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me to change everything to block out ten guys. What they think is they think if you hit it 330 that it's real easy to hit it straight. It's not. It's a lot harder to hit it straight 330. It seems like a lot of golf courses -- some of the golf courses are older and it's just the design, but they really pinch it in around where my ball lands. And I don't need a bigger area but I'd like to have the same area that the guy who hits it 285. I'd like to have the same area for my ball to land in, and in a lot of cases that's not it. But that's the way it is. You've just got to play it that way out here. If they do grow the rough up, you still have an advantage hitting a driver. With the club head speed you can cut through the rough easy. It's still hard, but you can cut through it easier and maybe hit some shots that some other guys can't.

Q. You pretty much had the week of your life at the Ryder Cup the last time around. Even with your victories in Phoenix, I couldn't imagine it could top the week you had playing at home. Where is that on your radar screen right now, and are you chomping to get back on that team?

J.B. HOLMES: I'd love to be back on that team. That was a great experience. The Ryder Cup was awesome. So definitely one of my main things to get up there this year and get on that team. We've just got to take it one tournament at a time. You play well in other tournaments and that will take care of itself. It's one of those things that you really want to make it, but it's not something that's always on your mind because you're just trying to play good golf.

MODERATOR: This is your 11st start this year coming in off a missed cut last week. Do you think that was a blessing in disguise or did you spend a lot of time working on your game all weekend?

J.B. HOLMES: No, I mean, it was just kind of a fluke that I missed the cut there. I hit the ball great on both days and just had some -- just some cruddy luck. I hit some shots that I thought was pretty good, and they just ended up in a terrible spot and had to call a two-shot penalty on myself for the "Brian Davis rule" kind of, and I missed the cut by two. I shot 68 the next day, so I was playing well, it was just one of those days.

Q. Is that what we call it now, the "Brian Davis rule"?

J.B. HOLMES: I mean, I don't see how the backswing is not part of your golf swing. If you say you can't hit the loose impediment you shouldn't be able to hit it on your follow-through, either. It's a ridiculous rule.

Q. Were you in a bunker or something?

J.B. HOLMES: No, I was off of 3, there's a hazard in the trees over there. I don't know why there was a hazard over there. There's nothing over there. I think they just drew some red paint. But I was in there and clipped it on my backswing, just barely clipped it, and I asked them, they said, yeah, it's a penalty. I'm like, all right.

MODERATOR: Appreciate you coming in, and good round, and keep it going the rest of the week.

The transcript for the above interview is courtesy of ASAP Sports.

('’)