With family now the priority, Kentucky golfer J.B. Holmes makes rare PGA Tour start
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- Former Taylor County and Kentucky golf star J.B. Holmes is playing the ISCO Championship.
- Holmes is a five-time PGA Tour winner who also won two Ryder Cups with the United States.
- Holmes is making his first PGA Tour start of the 2025 season at the ISCO Championship.
One of the most accomplished golfers from Kentucky is back on the PGA Tour this week. And he’ll be one of the sentimental choices during the commonwealth’s annual PGA Tour event.
Now 43 years old, J.B. Holmes is set to make his first tour start since last October when he tees off Thursday afternoon for the first round of the ISCO Championship, which is taking place at Hurstbourne County Club in Louisville.
A Campbellsville native who has won five times on the PGA Tour, most recently at the 2019 Genesis Invitational, Holmes was a standout during his amateur career at Taylor County High School and at UK.
Holmes then found massive success in the professional ranks, which came both before and after his 2011 PGA Tour season was cut short after he was diagnosed with structural defects in his cerebellum. Brain surgeries followed for Holmes, who won twice on tour before those procedures, the WM Phoenix Open in 2006 and 2008, and three times on tour after the surgeries, the 2014 Truist Championship, 2015 Texas Children’s Houston Open and the 2019 Genesis.
That Phoenix Open win in 2006 came in only Holmes’ fourth start after turning pro. Entering this week’s ISCO, Holmes has earned nearly $26 million in official winnings on the PGA Tour.
Holmes was part of a pair of Ryder Cup-winning teams with the United States in 2008 and 2016, with that 2008 triumph coming at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, the site of last year’s PGA Championship. Holmes was also part of the American team that won the 2015 Presidents Cup.
Some of Holmes’ best performances in pro golf have come in the sport’s top events. He’s finished in the top 25 in all four major championships, and he’s finished in the top five at both The Open Championship (third in 2016) and The Masters (tied for fourth, also in 2016).
But professional golf appearances have dwindled for Holmes recently. He only made 11 starts on the PGA Tour last season and only made the cut in one of those events: He finished in a tie for 50th last September at the Procore Championship in Napa, California.
“The main thing right now, I’ve got two young boys and I’m more focused on that stuff,” Holmes said Wednesday morning during a pre-tournament press conference ahead of the ISCO. “Right now, I’m not super focused on (playing professionally). I’m more wanting to be there for them. I’m definitely going to continue playing some. ... As of right now, I’m definitely still playing, still practicing, but it’s not my main goal right now.”
The priority in Holmes’ life is being a father to his two children, 7-year-old Tucker and 3-year-old Beckett.
“... More than anything, it’s not that I don’t want to play (tournament golf). I don’t want to be gone 30 weeks a year,” Holmes added. “... It’s not necessarily the golf part of it, it’s more of I don’t want to not be there for them. ... They’re learning a whole lot at this age, I want to be there for that and try to raise good human beings.”
J.B. Holmes is a former standout golfer at Kentucky
Holmes is an icon when it comes to golf in Kentucky.
He was part of the Taylor County golf team as a third grader, and won the 1998 Kentucky high school individual title as a sophomore with the Cardinals.
Then, Holmes became a college golf star at Kentucky.
He finished his time in Lexington (2001-05) with 86 career rounds of par or better. In 2005, Holmes became the first, and still only, UK golfer to be named the SEC Player of the Year. Holmes — who was named an All-American three times while at UK — led the Wildcats to the 2005 SEC championship in men’s golf, which remains the only SEC team title won by the program.
Holmes was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.
When asked by the Herald-Leader to reflect on his time as a Wildcat, Holmes, correctly, recalled that UK had finished sub-110th in the country the season before he joined.
Then, the team’s fortunes turned after the arrival of Holmes and head coach Brian Craig, who oversaw the program for 22 seasons until 2023.
“Something that’s never been done before at a big school like that, it’s always a great honor to be able to accomplish,” Holmes said. “... To be able to do something that nobody’s ever done and still hasn’t done at a school that big, is pretty cool. It was an awesome time in my life. It was a lot of fun.”
What are expectations for J.B. Holmes at the 2025 ISCO Championship?
As far as realistic expectations go for Holmes this week at the ISCO, making the cut from the 156-player field would be a solid starting point.
Holmes, who now lives in Nashville, came in early last week and played Hurstbourne a few times in preparation for the event. He’s in the ISCO field this week on a sponsor exemption.
“Ball striking I’ve been struggling with, but I’ve worked on it. I think everything’s getting ready to click a little bit. So I feel good going into it,” Holmes said. “... I haven’t really been playing a whole lot of tournament golf. I’ve been playing, but not tournament golf. ... Hopefully it’ll come together this week.”
When assessing his own expectations for his first tour start in more than eight months, Holmes was modest, expressing that he just hopes to do the little things well and control what he can control on the course.
That’s not to say Holmes isn’t aware of the hometown advantage he’s likely to have at Hurstbourne.
“Anytime you have a group of people behind you it always lifts you up (when they) root you on,” Holmes said. “Hopefully, I’m able to play well this week and get in the mix.”
How to watch J.B. Holmes at the ISCO Championship
Holmes is scheduled to start his opening round Thursday at 12:32 p.m. on tee No. 10.
Holmes is part of a group that includes Marcus Armitage of England and Tom Vaillant of France.
The Golf Channel has TV coverage of the ISCO Championship from 4-7 p.m.
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 3:14 PM.
