After a fellow undergoes brain surgery after the most successful seasons of his career, then sits out a subsequent year with a broken ankle, the memory of how to finish a tournament victory slowly ebbs. On championship Sunday in Charlotte, J.B. Holmes remembered how easily strokes come and go, as he faced the prospect of a return to the PGA Tour winner’s circle.

Jason Bohn hadn’t won since 2010, yet he penciled in six birdies and a two-bound eagle to reach five-under for the day. Holmes hadn’t won since 2008, yet stood in good stead after four birdies during his first 15 holes. Bohn blinked first, after making a memorable Sunday charge to reach 14-under, just one stroke behind Holmes. Bohn’s 16 holes of work were undone with one swing on the penultimate hole. At roughly the same time Holmes made birdie on No. 15 to reach 16-under par, Bohn rinsed his tee ball in the lake on the treacherous No. 17 for a three-shot swing. Bohn would go on to bogey No. 18 and drop into fourth place.

See the clubs Holmes had in his bag for the win.

After the round, Jason Bohn revealed that concern over a potential rules breach had a part to play in his ill-fated swing on the 17th tee:

“I got a bad time on 16, and for my second shot I took 1 minute 10 seconds to hit my second shot on the 16,” he said. “I was warned if I got another bad time, then I know it’s penalties, so on 17 I didn’t feel that comfortable with the wind starting to gust up a little bit, and I went ahead and hit it anyhow in a situation that I probably would have backed off in. So I’m more disappointed in myself and the way that I handled that than the golf shots that I hit.”

Lest Holmes lose focus for a moment and suspect that the deed was done, 2006 champion Jim Furyk had signed for a 65 and waited in the clubhouse at 13-under par. Holmes’ playing partner, Martin Flores, also would not go away and had his own opportunities to seize the title. When Holmes was too strong with a chip to the 16th green and too weak with a par-saving putt, his lead was down to two. Considering that, this time last year, the Kentucky native was in an ankle cast at the Kentucky Derby, any opportunity to contend for the Wells Fargo Championship was a welcome one.

On Saturday evening, while pondering his place atop the leader board, Holmes reminisced about the his most recent, eventful years.

“It’s been a big change since last year,” he said. “Last year, I broke my ankle and I was at the Derby this time and couple weeks after this I think I ended up having arm surgery, too.”

Evidently, after brain and ankle surgery, it’s easy to forget an arm surgery.

Holmes stood on the 17th tee, the fresh site of Bohn’s Waterloo, and could be forgiven for leaving the ball shy yet dry. His chip-and-run came up 10 feet short, but he found the focus to drop the par-saving putt into the hole and approach the 18th tee with a two-shot lead. Faced with a birdie chip to close his gap to one, playing partner Flores missed by mere inches. Flores then drove into a fairway bunker on No. 18, failed to reach the green with his second and penciled in a bogey at the last. His third-place finish was his first top-three effort in four seasons on Tour.

Despite the admonitions of the entire television crew to hit iron off the tee, Holmes selected driver and avoided the left-side water by bombing his tee ball into a copse of trees in the right rough. From there, he was able to hit an iron to the front of the putting surface, then nervously bump a chip to the green. Two putts later, Holmes raised his fist in triumph, escaping the Quail Hollow course with a one-stroke advantage over Furyk.

Returning to words uttered by Holmes some 24 hours earlier, his sense of place and priority was secure:

“I’m looking forward to it and the happy to be out here and go out tomorrow and do the best I can and if I win that’s great. If it ends up not being my day, then I’m just thankful to be out here and happy to have the opportunity that I have.”

Given his recent medical history, it’s not surprising that this sense of great calm buoyed the former Ryder Cup hero to victory at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Among top PGA Tour golfers, Justin Rose had 71 on Sunday for fifth place, Rory McIlroy went two-under par on Day 4 to reach a tie for eighth and Phil Mickelson was derailed by a late concentration lapse to finish in a tie for 11th.