3rd grader on the varsity golf team

Holmes’ dad called up the golf coach at Taylor County High School.

“The coach said, ‘Well if he can shoot around 50 on nine holes,'” Holmes recalled Saturday.

Holmes went that day nervous, of course he was competing to take a big teenager’s spot and tried out for the high school golf team.

The underdog moved right on up and that’s exactly what happened for Holmes Saturday at the BMW Championship.

After coming into the four-day tournament at Crooked Stick ranked 42nd of the 70 players, Holmes finished in third place after Saturday’s third round, shooting a 4-under-par 68 and finishing the day 14-under.

Holmes’ top three finish didn’t come with any super flashy one-day performances, but rather a three-day stream of solid scores including a 69 (three-under) in the opening round, a 7-under-par 65 Friday and a 68 on Saturday.

Holmes started Saturday with a bang back-to-back birdies on the first two par-4 holes, including a long putt on the second hole.

Other than a bogey on hole three, Holmes didn’t let up.

When he first took to the tour in 2006, a writer at worldgolf.com said Holmes “looks like a model for Red Man Chewing Tobacco.” If Holmes wins the BMW Championship Sunday, Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III will most certainly give Holmes one of the four spots on his squad reserved for wildcard picks.