Nice FBR, err, Phoenix Open win - but don't rank J.B. Holmes with Tiger or Snead

By the final hole of the Phoenix Open (I prefer the old name to “FBR Open"), the TV announcer was predicting superstardom for the winner, J. B. Holmes, who won by seven strokes in only his sixth PGA Tour event.

Granted, the kid from Kentucky – who looks like a young model for Red Man Chewing Tobacco – put on a show. But can we please give him time to win a couple of majors before we turn him into Sam Snead?

Over the years, many now-forgotten guys in sports have made a brief splash. Bobo Holloman threw a no-hitter in his first MLB start with the St. Louis Browns in 1953. He was in the minors by the All-Star break. Terry Baker, the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from Oregon State, got picked first in the 1963 NFL draft. He is the answer to a trivia question, nothing more. There are a thousand such stories.

Johnny Miller was the hottest golfer anyone ever saw after his record-setting final round in the 1973 U.S. Open. He won an incredible eight PGA Tour events the next year. During two weeks at the Tucson Open and Phoenix Open, he shot eight consecutive rounds in the 60s including a pair of 61s. Miller from 1973 to 1975 was the most sensational golfer who ever lived. But after that torrid two years ended, Johnny was just another good player on the tour.

Remember Steve Jones? Everyone called him the next big star after he captured the first two PGA tournaments of 1989. And he really was a terrific player. A decade ago, Jones won the same Phoenix Open with an astonishing 258. He has never been the same since, and his top finish last year was a tie for 36th.

Let us see what becomes of J.B. Holmes after the innocence is gone from his goofy country boy grin. The kid is raw; he knows little about the vagaries of life. At worst he is going to make a great deal of money, and for all but a few tour golfers that will suffice. He is not, after all, Tiger Woods.