Holmes pulls away, fires one of day’s aces

DORAL, Florida – J.B. Holmes and Dustin Johnson made aces on the same hole about 20 minutes apart Saturday at Doral, both with a 7-iron from 207 yards and with a shot that reacted almost identically when it landed in the middle of the green and rolled up the slope and into the cup.

Both pounded one 300-yard drive after another on a course where length is a huge advantage. And for a brief moment, they were separated by one shot.

The difference turned out to be the shortest club in the bag.

Holmes found his groove with the putter late in the round that carried him to four straight birdies and expanded his lead in the Cadillac Championship. Even with a bogey on the final hole at Trump National Doral, he had a two-under 70 and was five shots clear of Johnson (69) and Masters champion Bubba Watson (70).

“All you can really ask for is a chance to win on Sunday on the back nine,” Holmes said.

On a day of two aces, five other eagles on par 4s and even a scuba diver retrieving the 3-iron that Rory McIlroy heaved into the lake the day before, Holmes took some of the drama out of Doral with his late surge.

The last time aces were recorded on the same hole in the same round on the PGA Tour was at Liberty National in 2013 at The Barclays. That was K.J. Choi and Greg Chalmers, and neither was in contention. This was different.