JB Holmes Missing Dog But Topping Leaderboards At Portrush

Despite not having his dog, Ace, at the tournament, Holmes is still competing at the highest level.

JB Holmes Missing Dog But Topping Leaderboards At Portrush

As far as the opening couple of rounds go, American JB Holmes would probably fail to ask for anymore from his golf game at the 2019 Open Championship.

Two consecutive rounds of four-under have put him in a fantastic position going into the weekend. What makes this even more impressive is that he doesn't have his usual team cheering him on with his 18-month year old son and dog away from the tournament.

Speaking at a press conference Holmes spoke affectionately about both especially his dog Ace, a miniature golden-doodle named after a hole-in-one shot;

"It's nice to have the family out on the Tour. It's comforting. If you're a dog person and you have dogs, he sleeps with us in the bed and he's part of the family. It's a little pain getting him through the airport sometimes. But it's worth it having a piece of home, being able to travel with a piece of home with you. He's like a family member. You ask my 18-month-old son, who's his best buddy, he says Ace, that's the dog. It's nice to have him around.

Q. So you'll be missing him this week?

Holmes: "My son is not here and my dog is gone, so, yeah. We FaceTime the son and the dog is in the background, they're never too far apart.

Q. Go back to the dog, I'm really curious about your friendship with your dog. Could you tell us a few details, please, excuse my ignorance, the dog's name, how you got the dog.

Holmes: "His name is Ace. We got him at a charity auction, actually. At the time I didn't think we would be able to keep him. We just said -- it was the end of the season. I didn't want to have a dog and be gone the whole time and have to crate the dog and not be -- it wasn't fair to him. So we found out a way to be able to get him to travel. And he's been with us and he's pretty much six months old. He's pretty much grown. He's been on hundreds of planes probably. I don't know how many flights he's taken but he's been on a bunch.

Q. How come he's not here?

Holmes: Usually coming over to a different country you've got to -- dogs get in quarantine, sometimes the animals. They just changed that rule. There's a lot of extra paperwork to go overseas. My wife usually handles all that and she's been busy with an 18- month-old. So we didn't have the time.

Q. Obviously he's more than a pet, you say. If he's a good luck charm, do you feel there's something missing here this week? Is there a hole in your life?

Holmes: My wife's here, so I'm good. You know, I miss my son and I miss the dog. They travel with us. And like I said, we miss them when we're here. But we're here for a few more days and then we get to go back and see him.

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Regardless of whether Holmes is missing his dog, he seems to be playing some sublime golf at the moment with many players trying to chase him down. One of those is Tommy Fleetwood who spoke of his relationship with Holmes in a press conference;

"Yeah, we played together a couple of times. Again, like so many of us speak throughout the year, just say hi, week in, week out. I know he travels around America with his dog, and I love that. And a little bit jealous at times, to be honest. But he's a good guy and I know he's had a lot of success in a lot of events. He's had a great career. Still a long way to go in a major, but he's playing great at the moment and we'll see how things pan out."

Who knows, maybe if Holmes collects the Claret Jug and a winners cheque this week little Ace may have a puppy brother or sister too.

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