J.B. Holmes: Believe it or not, the defending FBR Open champion had his first top-10 finish last week since winning at the TPC of Scottsdale a year ago in February.

Playing in the season-opening Mercedes Championship in Hawaii, the only guy on the PGA Tour who dons a black golf glove ended up in a tie for fourth.

Last season, the big-hitting Holmes began his year with a tie for 10 th in the Sony Hawaiian Open, then won in Phoenix by seven shots over Ryan Palmer three weeks later.

From that point, it was mostly downhill, as Holmes’ best finish the rest of the year was a tie for 13 th in 22 additional starts. Along the way he missed seven cuts, and withdrew three times due to injury.

“With the hype I got from the media, and the way I won (last year), yeah, my expectations jumped up,’’ Holmes told pgatour.com. “I already had pretty high expectations, so I just made it harder on myself to play well and put added pressure on me I didn’t need.’’

Obvsiouly, the Plantation Course at Kapalua was tailor-made for Holmes. With wide-open fairways and a helping wind he launched some rockets, like the 429-yard missle that reached the 12 th green during the first round. Even scarier: On two occasions during practice rounds he overshot the 12 th hole, ending up in the bunker behind the green. Both bombs were estimated in the 440- to 450-yard range.

ON TOUR

Tiger’s world: For the fourth straight year, Tiger Woods was the No. 1 biggest earner in professional golf, making $11,941,827 million on the course while hauling in $87 million in commercial endorsements for a total of $98,941,827, according to Golf Digest. Phil Mickelson was No. 2 with $44,256,505, Arnold Palmer was third with $27,542,850, Vijay Singh No. 4 with $24,811,026 and Greg Norman No. 5 with $22,627,202. Other notables included Michelle Wie (No, 6, $20,235,224), Jack Nicklaus (No. 9, $17,680,167), Annika Sorenstam ($13,011,509) and John Daly (No. 17, $8,507,134). For his career, Woods has earned $646,738,003, and is well on his way to becoming the first billionaire in sports, projected to happen by the end of the 2010 season.

Marlin results: The Tommy Bahama Desert Marlin was held last week at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, with local pro Michael Allen and his partner, Scott O’Gorek, prevailing by three shots with a 17-under-par 127 total. The win for Allen was worth $18,000. Finishing in a four-way tie for second in the two-day event were teams headed by Ted Purdy, Jason Gore, Pat Perez and Stan Utley.

‘WD’ hurts: Scottsdale’s Aaron Oberholser was forced to withdraw with a bad back from last week’s no-cut Sony Hawaiian Open after opening with a par 73. The ‘WD’ hurt ‘AO’, who lost out on $51,000 in guaranteed money as well as FedEx Cup points.

NOTEWORTHY

FBR Open update: Pre-qualifying events for the FBR Open’s Monday qualifier will take place Jan. 25 at Vistal Golf Club in Phoenix, the Legends at Arrowhead in Glendale and Lone Tree Golf Club in Chandler. The top 30 players will advance to the Monday qualifier on Jan. 29 at Gainey Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale, where they will compete against members of the PGA and Nationwide tours who are not already in the field. The top three players from the Monday qualifier get spots in the FBR, which is Feb. 1-4 at the TPC of Scottsdale.

Short start: The Arizona Golf Association’s seasons teed off last weekend in spectacular fashion as defending champ Ken Kellaney captured the Arizona Short Course Championship at Ahwatukee Lakes. And while the Phoenix banker’s winning total was only two under par, but three shots better than Phoenix’s Bob Munoz, there were fireworks. That’s because Oro Valley’s Gregg Dennis (tie for 16 th) made two holes in one during the first round.

Just for kids: Three East Valley sites have been selected to participate in the 19 th annual Itty Bitty Open, which is set for Jan. 20. The event, which is open to children ages 3-5 and sponsored by the Junior Golf Association of Arizona and the Thunderbirds, will be held at Scottsdale Ranch Park, Tempe Sports Complex and Hohokam Park in Mesa.

For information, visit www.jgaa.org.