J.B. Holmes Needs Brain Surgery, Forcing Withdrawal From PGA Golf Playoffs

[Moecat]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-23/j-b-holmes-needs-brain-surgery-forcing-withdrawal-from-pga-golf-playoffs.html

 

J.B. Holmes needs brain surgery to treat a condition that causes vertigo-like symptoms, forcing the golfer to withdraw from the U.S. PGA Tour's playoffs.

 

Holmes, 29, will undergo surgery Sept. 1 at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital, the tour said in a statement, without giving the specific location of the facility. Holmes is currently near his home in Louisville, Kentucky, for blood work and pre-operation tests, the release said.

 

Holmes has a condition called Chiari malformations, which affects the part of the brain that controls balance. Symptoms include dizziness and problems with vision and co-ordination. Holmes began experiencing vertigo-like symptoms at the Players Championship in May, the PGA Tour said.

 

“This a relatively low-risk surgery and only takes about an hour and a half,” Holmes said in the statement. “Best of all, there's a very high success rate in fixing the condition.”

 

The playoffs begin this week with the Barclays, for which the top 125 golfers in the season-long FedEx Cup standings were eligible. The leading 100 players then advance to the Deutsche Bank Championship, from which 70 make the BMW Championship. The series wraps up with the 30-player Tour Championship, with the winner of the FedEx Cup receiving a $10 million bonus.

 

Holmes, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour who featured in the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2008, was ranked No. 66 in the standings heading into the Barclays.

 

“I was really looking forward to the playoffs this year and improving on my 31st-place finish from 2010,” said Holmes. “But with a three-month recovery before I can get back to form, we decided that the sooner I can get this procedure done, the better.”

 

The Barclays begins Aug. 25 at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, New Jersey.

 

To contact the reporter on this story: Dex McLuskey in Dallas at [email protected]

 

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at [email protected].