After winning the Phoenix Open twice in a three-year span, J.B. Holmes was starting to make a name for himself on the PGA Tour. Thanks in part to his second victory at the greatest show on turf, Holmes made his first Ryder Cup team, and looked destined to be a long-standing member of U.S. international teams. That was all derailed when he began battling vertigo-like symptoms in the 2011 season. In his last three starts that year, he missed two cuts and had to withdraw from the PGA Championship. Shortly thereafter, Holmes was on the operating table undergoing brain surgery. He was diagnosed with structural defects in his cerebellum, or Chiari malformations. During the surgery, he had a quarter-sized piece of his skull removed. He came back and played a full season on the PGA Tour in 2012, but managed only two top-10 finishes, both of which came before the Masters. In March of last year, Holmes was roller-blading as part of his conditioning routine, but suffered an awkward fall in which he broke his left ankle. As he rehabbed that injury, Holmes decided it was time to go under the knife, again. This time, Holmes was going to have his troublesome left elbow fixed. Why not? He wasnt fully ready to come back to the tour anyway. Once the calendar changed to 2014, Holmes was ready to go. He waited until late January at the Farmers Insurance Open to make his debut. It has been a slow build to fully get back into game shape. He had more finishes outside the top 50 -- five -- than he had inside the top 20 -- four. However, all four of those top-20 finishes came in his last five starts before the Wells Fargo Championship. Entering the Wells Fargo, Holmes had shot par or better in 14 or his last 20 rounds, and that trend continued at Quail Hollow. Holmes shot 2-under 70 in the opening round, then went 11-under par in the middle two rounds to take the lead entering the final round. Coming down the stretch, he led by two and made the finish interesting. Jim Furyk sat two strokes back and had been in the clubhouse for nearly two hours. He started to pack his things while Holmes was on 18, but stopped when Holmes hit a poor chip shot. Needing to get down in two putts for the win, Holmes did just that to close out a 1-under 71. The win was his third on the PGA Tour. Among the biggest aspects of the victory for Holmes is that he now qualifies for all four majors. When he tees it up at Pinehurst for the U.S. Open next month, it will mark his first start in a major since that 2011 PGA Championship, which he had to withdraw from. Next spring, hell return to Augusta National for the Masters for the first time since 2008. He also moved himself into contention for a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Holmes did go 2-0-1 as a captains pick at the 2008 Ryder Cup, and not many Americans in line for this years team have winning records. Those things are far off at this point, but for Holmes to even be in that conversation is a huge victory by itself. Now that he is healthy, we are seeing what kind of player Holmes once was, and can be again. A word of warning, though. After Holmes other two wins, which were in February 2006 and February 2008, he posted only two more top-10 finishes in those seasons and both were in 08. The way Holmes is playing now, it isnt hard to see him bucking that trend the rest of this season. LPGAS BEST AMERICANS TOO HOT, TOO SOON? Whether it is the Solheim Cup, Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup, each teams captain wants her players to be playing their best heading into that event. Three potential U.S. Solheim Cup team members are off to scorching starts this year on the LPGA Tour. Stacy Lewis just earned her first win this past weekend in Texas, and that was her eighth top-10 finish in nine starts. Michelle Wie also has a win and six top-10s in nine events, while team stalwart Cristie Kerr has six top-10s in eight tournaments. Is it too much too soon? The Solheim Cup wont be played for another 16 months. Captain Juli Inkster has to be happy to see how well some of her potential team members are playing right now. The Americans suffered a crushing defeat last year at the Solheim Cup, and the players from that team, and those hoping to make the 2015 squad, want to make sure what happened last year doesnt happen again. Five of the 10 winners this year on the LPGA Tour have been Americans, while two wins were by a European, Anna Nordqvist. With many of the tours top players hailing from Asia, having Americans winning half of the tours events is a great start for the team. Lets just hope they can keep the momentum going. MINI-TIDBITS - Dont try to blame John Daly for slow play problems, whatever tour he may be playing on. Daly was the first out in the final round of the Web.com event last weekend, and played as a single. Daly cruised around in 2 hours, 21 minutes. There are twosomes that dont play nine holes that fast at some tournaments. - From the where-are-they-now category, we bring you the curious case of Anthony Kim. According to a Golf Channel report last week, Kim rarely plays golf anymore. Kim had three PGA Tour wins by the age of 25, but he hasnt been seen on tour since 2012. The 28-year-old battled wrist, forearm and elbow injuries before tearing his Achilles. We might never know how great he could have been had he stayed healthy. Cheap Adidas Devils Jerseys . Cox started the season with San Francisco, but was released by the team on Nov. 12 before being signed by Seattle, where he appeared in two games and tallied three tackles before being released on Dec. Cheap Devils Jerseys China .James scored 29 points, including 16 in the first quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers broke a four-game losing streak with a 106-74 win over the Orlando Magic on Monday night. http://www.cheapdevilsjerseys.com/. -- Houstons All-Star tandem of James Harden and Dwight Howard refused to let the Rockets give in to fatigue. Cheap Devils Jerseys .The Dallas Cowboys released Sam from the practice squad Tuesday, dropping the rush end as they prepare for several potential reinforcements to return to the defensive line. Cheap Devils Jerseys Authentic . "Im going to send Webbie a six-pack (of beer) tonight," she said. Webb wasnt sure that would help. "Ill probably drink one and go to sleep," the Australian veteran said. The two players set up a Sunday showdown between former HSBC champions after finishing off their third rounds with identical birdies over three of the last five holes Saturday to separate themselves slightly from the rest of the crowded leaderboard.ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Rams have been very rough on Arizona Cardinals quarterbacks. It hasnt helped the bottom line.Though Drew Stanton was carted off with a right knee injury, just like Carson Palmer was a month ago, the Rams couldnt get enough done on offence.At the end of the game they were down to their third-string guy, defensive end Chris Long said after a 12-6 loss Thursday night. Theyve got enough players that they made more plays than us.Chandler Catanzaro kicked four field goals and the Cardinals overcame the loss of quarterback Drew Stanton with stifling defence, getting a sack and fumble recovery from Larry Foote.When people go down, we dont even ask how bad it is, Foote said. We just keep rolling. We definitely dont want our quarterback getting hurt. We just say on the defensive side, Lets hold them.Coach Bruce Arians said Stanton had a previous knee injury so will need an MRI exam to determine the extent of the damage. Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald seemed to believe Stanton would be out a while, and added about Lindley, Were going to rally around him.Were a resilient group, Fitzgerald added. Weve got a great defence, too.The Rams (6-8) were held to Greg Zuerleins two short field goals and had five three-and-out series in the third quarter. Catanzaros 23-yard field goal early in the second quarter ended nine quarters of shutout defence by St. Louis, which beat Washington and Oakland by a combined 76-0 the previous two weeks.Our defence kept us in the game, tight end Jared Cook. We couldnt capitalize on them flipping the field for us.Its the third time this season the Rams were held to single-digit scoring, and first in five games since Shaun Hill recaptured the quarterback job.Just mental errors, which is the bad part, Hill said. Physical errors are going to happen. Were humans. But on a short week, we have to be dialed in that much more and not have the mental errors and the mental breakdowns.Ryan Lindley was ineffective in his first appearance since 2012 in relief of Stanton, who injured his right knee on rookie Aaron Donalds sack in the third quarter, but it didnt matter. Palmer sustained a season-ending knee injury during their 31-14 victory over St. Louis at home last month.The Cardinals (11-3) entered tied for the top overall record in the NFC and will clinch a playoff spot if Sundays Dallas-Philadelphia game doesnt end in a tie, or a Detroit loss combined with a Green Bay victory.I thought our defence played well enough for us to win, coach Jeff Fisher said, but quickly added a turnover would have been nice. In situations like this, when your offence is struggling, your defence has got to make a play. We were close.The Rams were eliminated from playoff contention.Ryan Lindley was iineffective in his first appearance since 2012 in relief of Stanton, who injured his right knee on a sack in the third quarter, but it didnt matter.dddddddddddd The Cardinals lost Carson Palmer to a season-ending knee injury during their 31-14 home victory over St. Louis last month.Kerwynn Williams was the Cardinals offensive standout with 75 yards on 15 carries. Stanton was 12 of 20 for 109 yards and Lindley was 4 of 10 for 30 yards.The Cardinals (11-3) entered tied for the top overall record in the NFC and will clinch a playoff spot if Sundays Dallas-Philadelphia game doesnt end in a tie, or a Detroit loss combined with a Green Bay victory.Rams players had no apparent protests relating to unrest in nearby Ferguson. Two weeks ago, five players did the Hands Up, Dont Shoot pose coming out of the tunnel during pre-game introductions, and last week players wrote I Cant Breathe!!! on wrist bands and cleats.Rams rookie Tre Masons fumble gave the Cardinals a short field that set up Catanzaros first field goal. Frostee Rucker punched the ball free and Foote recovered at the St. Louis 27.It was the first score given up by the Rams since Nov. 23, when San Diego scored the winning touchdown with just over 8 minutes left in a 27-24 victory.Michael Floyd 49-yard reception set up Catanzaros 44-yard field goal that put the Cardinals up 6-3 midway through the second. Catanzaro made kicks of 51 yards and 46 yards in the second halfBoth teams had key defenders active coming off ankle woes. Arizonas Antonio Cromartie and St. Louis Chris Long had been questionable.Arizona committed five penalties on its first two possessions, twice wiping out big gains. Shaun Hill was 4 for 4 with completions of 21 yards to Benny Cunningham on a screen and Cory Harkey for 16 yards to set up Zuerleins 24-yard field goal in the first. Zuerlein missed an extra-point kick and two field goals inside the 40 last week.Last month, Arizona outscored the Rams 21-0 in the fourth quarter, with two defensive touchdowns, to come from four points down to win 31-14. After that game, St. Louis benched Austin Davis in favour of Hill.Notes: Fitzgerald was held in check against a team hes dominated with seven receptions for just 30 yards. Still, at 31 he became the youngest player to 900 career catches. In 22 games against St. Louis, he has 128 receptions and 16TDs, most against any opponent. ... The Rams led at halftime of their previous five home games this season, two of them losses. ... The Cardinals took the lead in the series, 36-35-2. ... Arizona is 7-0 at home and 4-3 on the road. ... The Rams entered with consecutive wins for the first time this season and are 3-4 at home.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '