CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- J.B. Holmes was a 3-foot putt away from winning the Wells Fargo Championship when he backed away to size up the situation. This wasnt about pressure. He was just happy to be there. Nearly three years removed from brain surgery, Holmes was in a far better place Sunday at Quail Hollow. His 3-foot bogey putt gave him a 1-under 71 and a one-shot victory over Jim Furyk, capping a remarkable comeback from a health issue that wouldnt be classified as the garden variety in golf. Not many other guys keep a piece of their skull in a container in their closet. "Just enjoying the moment," Holmes said. "You dont get that very often, so getting up and thanking God for letting me have the opportunity to do it. Whether I made it or not, just enjoy being there." He made it more stressful than he needed, with two bogeys on the last three holes and an 8-foot par putt on the other. Jason Bohn had the best chance to catch Holmes, one shot behind until pulling a 4-iron into the water on the par-3 17th and making double bogey. Phil Mickelson never had a chance, missing four putts from the 4-foot range and closing with a 76 to finish out of the top 10. It was the third PGA Tour win for Holmes, and by far the sweetest. Three years ago, he began to feel dizzy, and it wasnt much longer when he was diagnosed with structural defects in the cerebellum known as Chiara malformations. He had brain surgery -- twice. The first time was to remove a piece of his skull. The second time was from an allergic reaction to the adhesive that was holding the titanium plate to the base of the skull, causing severe headaches. If that wasnt enough, he injured his left elbow from hitting too many golf balls in a rush to return. Holmes spent a year getting more cortisone shots that he cared to remember, and when he broke his ankle while roller blading for exercise last year, he used that time to have elbow surgery. "Its been a long journey for me," Holmes said. "Ive had some ups and downs. Its a great feeling to be out there and to get one done." Holmes made enough key putts to allow for some mistakes at the end. He ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch around the turn, including a 30-footer on No. 11 that opened up a two-shot lead. He gouged a fairway metal out of the rough on the par-5 15th to set up a 6-foot birdie putt that stretched his lead to three shots. Perhaps the biggest putt of all was an 8-foot par save on the 17th hole. That kept his lead at two shots, and he needed it. Instead of playing an iron off the tee, he drove into the right rough, came up well short of the green and chipped weakly to 45 feet. Furyk was watching on TV in the locker room when Holmes knocked in the bogey putt to finish at 14-under 274. Martin Flores, in his first time playing in the last group, fell too far back with a three-putt bogey on the 13th. He made bogey on the 18th for a 72 and was third, the best finish of his PGA Tour career. Bohn also bogeyed the 18th for a 70 to finish fourth. Bohn received a bad time on the 16th hole -- one more would have been a one-shot penalty -- and said he let it get to him. "I didnt feel 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," Bohn said. "So Im more disappointing in myself and the way that I handled that than the golf shots that I hit." Still, the biggest disappointment might have been Mickelson. He was in great shape going into the final round, two shots out of the lead, and the two players ahead of him stalled at the start. Instead, Mickelson matched his highest final round on the PGA Tour since The Barclays in 2012. And it was an old nemesis -- short putting -- that did him in. Mickelson three-putted from 15 feet on No. 8. He missed a 3-foot par putt on the 11th, a 4-foot birdie putt on the 14th and four-putted from 30 feet on the 16th. "I had two great rounds and I had two pathetic rounds this week," Mickelson said. "The greens putted perfectly, even though I didnt." The challenge came three others, with a series of eagles that injected some drama into Quail Hollow, if only briefly. Furyk chipped in for eagle from off the 15th green and then closed with three straight pars for a 65 to sit in the clubhouse at 13-under 275. Bohn holed out a sand wedge from 95 yards on the par-5 10th hole that disappeared into the cup on the third bounce. He also chipped in for birdie on No. 12. Flores chipped in for eagle from short of the 10th green that allowed him to tie for the lead, but only until Holmes made a short birdie putt of his own on No. 10. Holmes ran in the long birdie putt on the next hole for a two-shot lead, and he stayed in control the rest of the way. Holmes still has that container with a piece of his skull somewhere in his closet. He doesnt use it as inspiration. Hes not even sure where it is. So when asked if he would put the trophy from Wells Fargo next to it, Holmes chuckled. "Ill put the skull in the trophy," he said. Adidas NMD Mens Clearance . The Spanish champions decision not to sign a defender during the January transfer window may have backfired after Valencia took advantage of a lethargic, uninspired effort by its hosts at the Camp Nou, where former Spain coach Luis Aragones -- who previously coached the Catalan side -- was honoured after his death on Saturday. Cheap Fake NMD . Among the six changes: Drivers are now eligible if they have competed for 30 or more years in NASCAR or turned 55 in the calendar year before nominating day. Previously, drivers were not eligible until they had been retired for three years, so drivers can continue to compete and still reach the hall. http://www.cheapnmdonline.com/ . Toronto ended an 0-4-0 skid with Sundays shootout win over visiting New Jersey, but the club could have a difficult time making it two victories in a row tonight. The Maple Leafs have dropped three straight and 11 of the last 12 regular- season meetings against Boston overall and the Bruins have claimed six straight in Beantown. Adidas NMD Clearance Sale . Chris Capuano. Shane Greene. And now, Esmil Rogers. Adidas NMD Black Sale . On Thursday, a judge said Varlamov could be released if he posted $5,000 bond and be allowed to travel with the team but he was ordered to stay away from his girlfriend, among other restrictions.NEWARK, N.J. -- With the New Jersey Devils fighting for a playoff spot, Jon Merrill picked the perfect time to score his first NHL goal. The rookie defenceman connected 2:34 into overtime, and the Devils snapped a two-game skid with a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night. "You always dream of this kind of stuff when youre a little kid," the 22-year-old Merrill said. "After 20 games went by and I hadnt scored, I think those dreams went away a little bit. I knew it would come when it came. Tonight was a good opportunity." The goal came in Merrills 31st NHL game and was set up by Adam Henrique winning a battle in the corner and Michael Ryder getting the puck and finding Merrill all alone above the left circle for an uncontested shot against Ilya Bryzgalov. "I saw that four guys kind of collapsed on Ryds," Merrill said. "I was calling for it and he made a great play. I was walking in all alone and fortunately it went in." The win was the second in six games for New Jersey (2-2-2), and it ended a slide that saw the Devils lose the last two games in overtime after giving up the lead late in the third period. "It was awesome for him to get his first goal in overtime," said Henrique, who might have gotten away with a holding-the-stick penalty just before the goal. "Its such an important win for the team. Thats one hes going to remember for the rest of his career." Cory Schneider made 19 saves and Andrei Loktionov scored in regulation for the Devils, who play Saturday night at Washington in their final game before the Olympic break. Taylor Hall had the goal for the Oilers, who lost for only the second time in seven games (5-1-1). Ilya Bryzgalov made 22 saves for Edmonton, which wont play again until Feb. 27. "We found different ways to get points in this stretch," defenceman Justin Schultz said. "We got some solid goaltending. Weve improved our game against these teams that are battling for playoff spots." The Devils hit three posts in tthe game, with Ryder clanging a shot off the crossbar with 9:20 to play.dddddddddddd Both teams went for the win in the final minutes of regulation. Henrique had two chances in close with just more than 4 minutes to go, and defenceman Andrew Ference and Matt Hendricks had chances for Edmonton a minute later. Schneider stopped a chance in close by Jordan Eberle early in overtime. With the Devils struggling to score, coach Pete DeBoer shook up his lines for the game and that led to the teams first goal. Loktionov, who was put at centre on Jaromir Jagrs line, opened the scoring at 11:01 with his first goal since Dec. 4. Jagr and defenceman Bryce Salvador set up the goal. Jagr carried the puck into the Oilers zone and found Salvador on the other side of the ice. He skated toward Bryzgalov and sent a cross-ice pass to a wide-open Loktionov for a shot into an open net. Jagrs assist was the 1,039th of his career, putting him one behind Marcel Dionne for ninth in NHL history. The public address announcer had not finished giving out the assists when Edmonton tied the game 29 seconds later. Hall skated the puck into the Devils end and worked a perfect give-and-go with Nail Yakupov for his 20th goal of the season. Schneider never had a chance to stop the shot into an open net. New Jersey had plenty of opportunities to take the lead in the second period. Devils defenceman Marek Zidlicky hit the post on a power-play shot and Ryane Clowe hit a post on a breakaway after an Oilers turnover. Mark Faynes shot from the point was past Bryzgalov and heading into the net when Ference swept it away from the crease. NOTES: Schultz played in his 100th NHL game. ... Martin Brodeur has been the Devils backup goalie the past five games. He has not played since giving up six goals in two periods during the outdoor game against the New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium. ... Devils D Anton Volchenkov missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. ... Russian Olympian Anton Belov did not play on the road trip. ' ' '