J.B. Holmes made a hole in one on his way to a two-under-par 70 and took a five-stroke lead over Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson into the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship on the TPC Blue Monster at Trump National Doral in Miami.
Holmes aced the 227-yard fourth hole about 24 minutes after Johnson did the same two groups ahead of him for the first hole in one at No. 4 since 1990.
“When you’re on top of the leaderboard and you can get a hole in one, that’s awesome,” said Holmes, who is seeking his fourth victory on the PGA Tour. ” … It’s not over yet. I’m not going to change my game plan.”
The leader since opening with a 62, Holmes did not have a birdie in the third round until making four in a row through No. 17, before driving into the trees on the right side of the 18th hole and finishing with his fourth bogey on a rainy day.
Johnson made two birdies in the next four holes after his ace, but had only one more, at No. 16, and also made bogey on the final hole to shoot 69, while Watson, the reigning Masters champion, holed a bunker shot on the closing hole to wind up at 70.
Ryan Moore hit into the rough, a fairway bunker and the water en route to a triple-bogey 7 on the third hole, but sank a 13-foot eagle putt on the 16th to shoot 74 and was six shots back in solo fourth.
Bill Haas posted the best score of the day, a 65, and was seven shots behind in a tie for fifth with Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, who had a 67, and Henrik Stenson of Sweden, who wound up at 72.
Defending champion Patrick Reed shot 71 and was in a tie for 12th that included top-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, who had a 72.
Phil Mickelson had his best round of the week, carding a 71 after opening 74-74, and was in a tie for 34th.
