JB Holmes’ Slow Play Antics Frustrates Brooks Koepka And Golf Fans Around The World

The 148th British Open was capped off this past weekend with Irishman Shane Lowry sweeping the competition and winning with ease.

Lowry finished six strokes ahead of second-place Tommy Fleetwood, but the story on Sunday was JB Holmes‘ infamous and deliberate slow play frustrating fans and his partner in Sunday’s competition, Brooks Koepka.

“J.B. had a rough day. J.B. is a slow player. I know it’s difficult with the wind, but I didn’t think he was that bad today,” Koepka said, according to Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio. “I thought he was all right. There were times where I thought it was slow. There’s a lot of slow guys out here. What I don’t understand is when it’s your turn to hit, your glove is not on, then you start thinking about it, that’s where the problem lies. It’s not that he takes that long. He doesn’t do anything until his turn. That’s the frustrating part. But he’s not the only one that does it out here.”

Koepka has been a known advocate for trying to push the pace for golf’s major tournaments, and the top-ranked golfer had to wait through Holmes’ slow play. To make it even worse, Holmes shot a dreadful 87 strokes on Sunday. Before entering on the final day of the tournament, he was sitting at third place after shooting a 66, 68 and 69 on his first three rounds. He racked up an 87 on the final day and dropped 64 spots in the leaderboards because of it, thus losing around $700,000 and taking home just $25,080 after his Sunday performance.

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“But like I said, it wasn’t that bad today, it really wasn’t. It was slow, but it wasn’t that bad for his usual pace. It was relatively quick for what he usually does,” Koepka told Golfweek.

Koepka somehow stayed composed through Holmes’ slow play, and finished tied in fourth place with Lee Westwood. 

Article by Tyler Pence