Pro Golf Now
Fansided

AT&T Byron Nelson 2017: 5 groups to watch in Rounds 1 & 2

By Luke Norris

May 27, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Jordan Spieth (right) and Matt Kuchar on the 10th hole during the second round of the 2016 Dean & Deluca Invitational at Colonial Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports
May 27, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Jordan Spieth (right) and Matt Kuchar on the 10th hole during the second round of the 2016 Dean & Deluca Invitational at Colonial Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
May 14, 2017; Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, USA; J.B. Holmes tees off on the 2nd hole during the final round of The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass – Stadium Course. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
May 14, 2017; Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, USA; J.B. Holmes tees off on the 2nd hole during the final round of The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass – Stadium Course. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Steven Bowditch, J.B. Holmes, Ryan Moore

Round 1: 10th tee, 12:40 p.m. CT

Round 2: 1st tee, 7:40 a.m. CT

With no offense at all to Steven Bowditch and Ryan Moore, both of whom are very solid players and certainly have a great chance to compete this week, the focus in this group is J.B. Holmes, who’s coming off a disastrous finish at THE PLAYERS Championship. After solid rounds of 68, 69 and 70 the first three days at TPC Sawgrass, the 54-hole co-leader stumbled some 40 spots down the leaderboard on Sunday with a final-round 84. Yes, you read that right. With a chance to win the biggest tournament of his life, the now-44th-ranked player in the world shot a 12-over 84, going out in 40 with four bogeys and a double and only birdied the two par-5s. And things just got worse on the back as he shot 44, including a disastrous quintuple-bogey on the famed 17th.

One must wonder now how J.B. Holmes will react in his first round. He took a lot of heat after THE PLAYERS and it would be nice to see him come back with a couple of solid rounds on Thursday and Friday to erase any doubt he has in his mind about his abilities. Sawgrass is a very tough course and there’s a lot of pressure that comes with playing in the final group at THE PLAYERS. But with the Byron Nelson quote from the intro on the brain, he can only move forward and hope for a better finish this week.

Home/PGA