Holmes

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

More Other Sports

• Rome out: Ward, Pennington in
• Finally pain free, Soro is hoping for a better run
• North Carolina edges Lady Vols in soccer

Share and Enjoy [?]

David Holmes won't get any surprises Friday when the SEC Golf Championship begins. That's fine with the Tennessee sophomore.

Last year, Holmes, then a UT freshman from West High School, went from spectator to participant at the last minute.

"Thirty minutes before my tee time I was the back-up guy,'' Holmes recalled this week as the Vols prepare to defend their title at St. Simons Island, Ga.

When Jonathan Mount's troublesome knee wouldn't cooperate, Holmes went from cheerleader to fifth man in the lineup.

"I got that look from Coach (Jim Kelson),'' Holmes said. "He put his arm on my shoulder and said, 'Dave, you're in.'

"That was the most nerve-wracking 30 minutes of my college career so far. I had time to hit about 10 balls and make a few putts and then I got up on the tee.''

Fifty-four holes later, the Vols claimed their first SEC title in 17 years.

They begin their defense Friday at the Frederica Golf Club in a field that includes six of the top 16 teams in the national rankings.

Based on stroke average, Holmes is the No. 3 man for the Vols. But on this team, positions are fluid, to say the least. Five men play with the top four scores counting toward the team total.

"Anybody could play one and anybody could play five,'' said Kelson. "That's the strength of our team.''

Four veterans return from the title team: Chris Paisley, Philip Pettitt, Charles Ford and Holmes. Tino Weiss, who tied with Paisley for second place individually last year in the two-stroke victory over Alabama, graduated and is replaced by freshman Robin Wingardh.

Paisley is the top-ranked Vol at No. 62 nationally. However, he, Pettitt, Holmes and Ford are bunched between 72.27 and 72.69 when it comes to stroke average.

"Every week,'' said Pettitt, "all five guys have a chance to win. There's not many teams in the conference or the nation that can say that heading into every week.

"Chris is having a really good year but everybody at some point has led this team.''

Throw out one bad tournament and Kelson gives this team excellent marks. They've won two tournaments, finished second, third and fourth in others.

"I think this team is actually better than the team we had last year,'' Kelson said. "We're a little more consistent one through five.''

Holmes looks for a good week. His game - he works with local pro Randy Wylie - is in solid shape.

"It's definitely going to help me,'' Holmes said, "going into this year knowing I'm playing this time.''

New Course: Though the event says in the same locale, it moves from Sea Island Golf Course to a new layout. Frederica Golf Club is a par-72, 7,217-yard course designed by Tom Fazio that opened in 2005.

"Everybody will be seeing it for the first time,'' Kelson said before Thursday's practice round.

Georgia is ranked No. 1, followed by Alabama (No. 2), Florida (No. 7), UT (No. 9), South Carolina (No. 14) and Auburn (No. 16).

Tennessee's titles came in 1980, 1990 and 2007. Seven different teams have won in the past 13 years but Georgia leads handily with 26 titles since 1937.