DORAL, Fla. – Whether by choice or coercion, Dustin Johnson sat out for six months.

That much should not be forgotten as Johnson, fresh off another World Golf Championship title that renewed his credentials as an elite player, tries to move forward even as there are lingering questions about his past.

And those questions linger in part because the PGA Tour doesn’t release all information about suspensions.

“We don’t think the fans really want to know about most of the stuff we would be talking about,” Commissioner Tim Finchem said Sunday. “We don’t think there’s a large volume of it, and we don’t think much of it is very serious.”

Heading into the final major of last year, Johnson was No. 5 in the Ryder Cup standings, a lock to make his third straight team. He was No. 4 in the FedEx Cup, poised for a shot at a lucrative payoff. And then he walked away under curious circumstances by announcing a leave of absence in a statement that contained words like “personal challenges” and “mission of self-improvement.”

The PGA Tour said nothing except to wish him well, and to deny a report by Golf.com that Johnson was suspended for six months. Golf.com reported Johnson failed three drug tests, the last two for cocaine, including in 2012 when he missed three months for what he said was a back injury from lifting a jet ski out of the water.

Six months later, Johnson looks as good as ever.

In the last five weeks, he has tied for fourth at Pebble Beach, lost in a playoff at Riviera and won at Doral.

There was a vibe on Twitter and in the locker room at Riviera when Johnson was in the playoff that it was not right for him to leave quietly and return with so little inspection. Johnson was helped because most of the attention went to Tiger Woods and his lost tooth and lost game.

Johnson received no earnings in golf tournaments for six months. He has averaged $164,183 per tournament in his career and missed at least seven tournaments he ordinarily would have played.

The tour is required under its anti-doping policy to announce a suspension (but not the substance). There have been two cases in seven years. But when it comes to recreational drugs, the tour conveniently tucks that under its ubiquitous “conduct unbecoming a professional” category, in which the tour is not required to publicly disclose anything. And it rarely does.

Conduct unbecoming could be a 3-iron that gets hurled into the water or any other fit of frustration. It could be comments that disparage another player. It could be marijuana.

John Daly was hearing rumors in late 2008 that he had been suspended for life because of a series of incidents. He called The Associated Press to set the record the straight: He was only suspended for six months. The AP called the PGA Tour, which said it does not comment on discipline.

Finchem said it doesn’t make sense to announce a fine when it would only serve to remind people of something “that five people saw on the fourth green.” Then again, millions of television viewers heard Patrick Reed berate himself over a three-putt in Shanghai by using a gay slur. The only comment came from Reed, who apologized.

By not saying anything, the tour creates a vacuum filled with speculation, innuendo and rumors.

These are what follow Johnson.

When asked if the Golf.com report on the failed drug trusts were accurate, Johnson said “no” in an interview with the AP and then quickly and politely said he was done answering those questions.

They came up again when Johnson won the Cadillac Championship. And he will face more questions if he wins a major.

Finchem said there are some cases that require comment, though his analogy of a brawl, such as a player “slugging somebody in the stands,” didn’t resonate.

“When we get into substance abuse, it’s kind of in between,” Finchem said. “I mean, I can see some of the benefits of dealing with that differently. Thus far, we have chosen not to.”

And here’s where it gets sticky. If a player is mysteriously absent for a period of time – maybe he needs to clear his head, or even work on his chipping – speculation easily follows that he might be suspended. Even if the tour says otherwise, how much credibility does it have?

“If it triggers a situation where a player is stepping away from the game, or maybe being suspended, but we really don’t know, does that create confusion?” Finchem said. “And that’s one point that we are giving some thought to on that particular situation.”

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour is inviting you to draw your own conclusions. That’s safe for the tour. Is it fair to the player?

DORAL, Fla. – A month after he returned from his curious leave of absence, Dustin Johnson was posing with another big trophy.

In a power show Sunday on the Blue Monster, Johnson was flawless on the back nine and blasted two big drives to finish off a 3-under 69 and win the Cadillac Championship for his second World Golf Championship title.

Johnson took advantage of a collapse by J.B. Holmes, who lost a five-shot lead and closed with a 75 to finish one shot behind. Masters champion Bubba Watson opened with four birdies in seven holes to lead by two shots, only to make three bogeys in a four-hole stretch on the back nine. He shot 71 and finished two behind.

Johnson won for the ninth time in his PGA Tour career and moved to No. 6 in the world.

It looked as though the 30-year-old Johnson was never gone.

He returned just five weeks ago from a six-month leave of absence to seek professional help for what he described only as personal challenge. Golf.com reported in August that Johnson had failed a cocaine test for the second time, and that he previously was suspended in 2012 under similar circumstances.

Johnson only said, “No,” when asked if he failed a drug test in an interview before his return.

The swagger was back at Trump National Doral, especially on the finishing holes. But when he tapped in for par, it was clear this victory meant more than the others. He walked off with fiancee Paulina Gretzky – the daughter of hockey great Wayne Gretzky – and their son, Tatum, who was born in January.

“I knew I was really good,” Johnson said. “I knew there was something I was missing that could make me great. I was working hard on that, and I think it’s showing right now. … It’s tough. I’m so excited right now, I can’t hardly talk. It feels great. The one definitely, by far, is the best one.”

One day after Johnson made a hole-in-one on the par-3 fourth hole, he nearly did it again, missing the cup by an inch. That was his first birdie, and two birdies on the par 5s around the turn drew him closer as Watson began to slip.

Watson laid up into the rough on the par-5 12th hole, caught a plugged lie in a bunker and made his second straight bogey to create a three-way tie for the lead with three of the longest hitters in golf. Johnson took the lead for the first time when he made a 10-foot par putt on the 14th hole, and Holmes missed his par from 6 feet.

The pivotal moment came on the par-3 15th, when Johnson rolled in a birdie from just inside 15 feet for a two-shot lead.

He made all the right moves the rest of the way.

Johnson finished at 9-under 279, adding to the WGC title he won in Shanghai at the end of 2013. He was on top of his game, one of golf’s most athletic figures who already had contended in three majors. Then came the indefinite leave, forcing him to miss the Ryder Cup and the FedEx Cup playoffs.

And now he’s back.

In five tournaments, he has missed the cut twice, lost in a playoff at Riviera and tied for fourth at Pebble Beach.

It was the second close call this year for Holmes, who lost in a playoff at Torrey Pines. It was a struggle from the start, and Holmes lost his five-shot lead in the first 30 minutes, and fell behind with three bogeys in his opening six holes.

His lone birdie was a two-putt on the 293-yard 16th hole, but he didn’t have good birdie chances on the final two holes. And Johnson didn’t make any mistakes. He twice hit tee shots over 300 yards on the two closing holes, the last hole so bold that it challenged the corner of the water. It sailed right over, and Johnson was on his way.

Watson went bunker-to-bunker on the 11th for bogey, made another on the 12th and drove into the trees on the 14th for another bogey.

Adam Scott (71) and Henrik Stenson (72) tied for fourth, though they were five shots behind.

Rory McIlroy got his 3-iron back, the one he heaved into the water on the eighth hole Friday. A diver retrieved and Donald Trump delivered it to him on the range. McIlroy used it on the 18th hole and hit into the water for a double bogey and a 72. The world’s No. 1 player, who missed the cut in the Honda Classic last week, tied for ninth.

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Alex Cejka won the Puerto Rico Open on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, making a 15-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a five-man playoff.

The 44-year-old Czech-born German won in his 287th start on the PGA Tour. A four-time European Tour winner, he birdied four of the first six holes and finished with a 3-under 69 in rainy, windy conditions at Trump International-Puerto Rico.

“I’m speechless,” Cejka said. “I’m glad it’s over. It’s been a grinding week, tough week. The first victory is always the toughest. … These guys are good. I mean this is the slogan. At least I can say I played the PGA Tour for a long time and I won. So that’s a good sentence I can use when I retire.”

Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, had a chance to force another playoff hole, but his 8-foot birdie try on the par-5 18th went to the right.

“I really felt like I hit a pretty good putt there,” Saunders said. “It went right on me and I was playing it inside the hole. I’m still proud. I had a great week … just good things going forward. Happy for Alex. He’s been out here so long and he’s been a great player for a long time. He deserves it. I’m very happy for him. Hopefully, I’ll have more chances like this.”

Jon Curran, Tim Petrovic and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo also were in the playoff.

Grillo and Curran shared the lead at 8 under with one hole left in regulation, but closed with bogeys in the second-to-last group.

“Nobody even thought that two guys could make bogey on the last,” Cejka said.

Grillo missed a short par putt and settled for a 70.

“It’s definitely a tough one,” Grillo said. “But I would take a playoff at the beginning of the week and have a chance to win the tournament. It’s hard. … It feels like I should have won this tournament by four or five shots.”

Cejka had already changed clothes, thinking he had no chance to get in a playoff.

“If that would be a long par 4, people can make bogey, but a par 5 downwind – they moved the tees up – and two guys bogeyed,” Cejka said. “The odds were not that good. I changed. I had everything ready to go to the airport and almost was very satisfied with a third finish. And suddenly it changed, and here I am. And I’m very, very pleased. I don’t think I’m going to sleep tonight.”

He quickly changed back into golf attire.

“We had a couple of minutes,” Cejka said. “I had shorts on and a T-shirt and I had everything packed. Luckily, there was one more group, the final group coming, so I changed. But I didn’t hit balls. Some of the guys were hitting balls in the rain or putting. But I literally just put some fresh clothes on me and some dry clothes and I was ready to go.”

Curran also had a 70.

“I’m really proud of myself to put myself in the position that I was in. It was just kind of a surreal place to be,” Curran said. “I had a chance to win. I was right there.”

Petrovic shot a 67, and Saunders had a 68

Scott Brown, the 2013 winner playing in the final group, had a chance to get into the playoff with a birdie on the final hole, but made a bogey to drop into a tie for 10th at 5 under. He finished with a 73.

Canadian Adam Hadwin held a share of 5th heading into Sunday’s round, but carded a 2-over 74 to drop into a tie for 27th. The Abbotsford, B.C. native had four bogeys and two birdies in the final round.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames was the only other Canadian to make the 36-hole cut. He tied for 47th after a 70.

DORAL, Fla. – Donald Trump made sure Rory McIlroy had all 14 clubs in the bag for his final round at the Cadillac Championship.

Adding yet another day of publicity to McIlroy’s mini-meltdown, The Donald had a scuba diver retrieve the 3-iron that McIlroy heaved into the water left the par-5 eighth hole during the second round at Trump National Doral.

McIlroy played with only 13 clubs in the third round, saying he really didn’t need a 3-iron.

Trump waited for McIlroy to arrive on the practice range, walked over and presented him with the sunken treasure. Turning to the crowd lined up behind the railing, Trump said, “Thirteen is an unlucky number. I want him to have 14 clubs in his bag.”

Maybe that was a mistake.

“I put it back in the bag. I actually used a 3-iron to hit into the water for my third shot on 18,” McIlroy said with a laugh after he closed with a 72.

McIlroy feigned slinging the club into the water on 18, but smiled and held onto it.

He would have had 14 clubs, anyway, as a replacement club was shipped to the world’s No. 1 player earlier Sunday. That didn’t keep The Donald from another date with the cameras.

“He’s never one to miss an opportunity,” McIlroy said. “It was fine. It was good fun.”

McIlroy said he would return the club to Trump after the round, and Trump already had something special in the works.

“We’re thinking about auctioning it for charity or doing a trophy case for Doral, putting it on a beautiful mount,” Trump said. “People really want that. I think Rory wants that. It was such a big thing. Last night it was all over television. It was the biggest story. And then the scuba diver! He was from central casting.”

McIlroy hit his second shot into the water in the second round, and then sent the club flying some 50 yards into the lake in such a way it looked like the rotor on Trump’s helicopter he has stationed near the ninth tee.

It was the most compelling image Friday of this World Golf Championship. And the scuba driver got as much air time on Saturday as J.B. Holmes and Dustin Johnson making a hole-in-one some 20 minutes apart. And now the “trophy presentation.”

Marcel Siem threw his club into the water on the same hole Saturday, though no one paid much attention. And the diver didn’t bother with that. Then again, McIlroy is the best player in golf.

“I don’t usually get scuba divers to go out and collect them, especially mine,” Trump said. “But it was a beautiful moment. He did it with elegance.”

DORAL, Fla. – J.B. Holmes and Dustin Johnson each made a hole-in-one on the par-3 fourth hole in a span of 20 minutes. Holmes was in a league of his own in the final hour Saturday at the Cadillac Championship.

His advantage down to one shot, Holmes answered by running off four straight birdies in the rain to expand his lead to the largest it has been all week. He closed with a bogey for a 2-under 70, leaving him five shots ahead of Johnson and Masters champion Bubba Watson.

On a day of two aces, five other eagles on par 4s and even a scuba driver retrieving the 3-iron that Rory McIlroy heaved into the lake the day before, Holmes took some of the drama out of Doral with his late surge.

Johnson, who made his ace with a 7-iron from 207 yards, converted a birdie on the par-4 16th to get within one shot. Holmes appeared to be struggling, with two bogeys on par 5s and only the hole-in-one keeping him in front. But the big hitter from Kentucky poured in a 12-foot birdie putt at No. 14, and he was on his way.

Holmes went at the flag on the par-3 15th and made a 12-foot birdie putt. From the back bunker on the reachable 16th, he blasted out to tap-in range for another birdie. And as the rain came down harder, he got even better. He drilled a 333-yard drive down the middle of the 17th fairway and holed another 12-foot birdie putt.

He ended with a bogey from the palm trees and fell back to 11-under 205.

Even so, he looked to be a tough guy for Johnson (69), Watson (70) or anyone else to chase down.

“I can’t worry about what J.B. is doing,” said Watson, who holed a bunker shot from behind the 18th green for birdie. “This golf course is hard enough as it is. If I start worrying about other people, I’m going to lose it.”

Ryan Moore, tied for the lead after a birdie on the opening hole, fell back with a triple bogey on the third hole and was on the verge of falling too far behind until he hit his tee shot on the 301-yard 16th hole to 15 feet for an eagle. He salvaged a 74 and was six shots behind.

Bill Haas had the low score of the third round, making eight birdies for a 65. He was tied for fifth with Louis Oosthuizen (67) and Henrik Stenson (72), though they were seven shots behind.

McIlroy provided the highlight of this tournament by slinging his 3-iron into the water left of the par-5 eighth hole Friday after a shot into the lake. He opted to play with only 13 clubs in the third round, but back-to-back bogeys on the front nine and back nine kept him from making a move. He had a 72 and was 10 shots behind.

He wasn’t aware of the diver that fished out his 3-iron. He wasn’t aware of Holmes and Johnson making aces, either?

“No way,” McIlroy said. “That’s why I’m not leading the tournament.”

Watson might have had the best view.

He was on the third green when he heard the roar and saw Johnson raise both arms after his 7-iron went in. Then, Watson was heading down the fifth fairway when he heard another road and saw Holmes doing a jig on the tee box.

“Maybe one of us should have made a hole-in-one instead of skip a group,” he said.

Amazingly, both shots looked identical. They landed in the middle of the green, rolled up the slope and were in the center cut of the hole. Johnson’s shot drop on the final few turns, while Holmes’ shot gently struck the pin before it disappeared.

Holmes also hit a 7-iron.

“When you’re on top of the leaderboard and you can get a hole-in-one, that’s awesome,” he said.

There were a lot of awesome shots at Trump National Doral.

Watson holed out from a bunker for the second straight day. Luke Donald and Oosthuizen holed bunker shots for eagle on the 16th. Rickie Fowler dunked one from the 11th fairway for eagle. There were 10 eagles in the third round, only three of them on a par 5.

Most satisfying to Holmes was having a five-shot lead going into the final round. Holmes looked as though he might come back to the field when he chipped into a bunker on the par-5 10th hole and had to scramble for par, hit his drive into a hazard on the 12th hole and made bogey and had to scramble for par from a bunker on the 13th.

And then he took off, and gave the rest of this World Golf Championship field one last day to try to catch him.

“It’s not over yet,” Holmes said. “I’m not going to change my game plan.”

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Scott Brown birdied the final two holes Saturday for a 5-under 67 and a share of the lead with Chris Smith in the PGA Tour’s wind-swept Puerto Rico Open.

Brown, the 2013 winner, matched Smith at 6-under 2010 at Trump International-Puerto Rico.

“Got a few more putts to go in today and ended up shooting a good round,” Brown said. “The wind died just a little bit for us this afternoon. Putting has been tough early in the week with the wind blowing as hard as it’s been. It’s still blowing around a little bit, tough to get it close.”

Brown also had three front-nine birdies in his bogey-free round.

“The toughest thing about this course is it’s all cross-winds, so you very rarely get any downwind or into-the-wind shots,” Brown said. “It’s all quarter in or across. That’s what makes it so tough. It’s really just guesswork. It’s guessing on how much you think it’s going to move it. The wind has been so strong that you can’t really play shots that hold up against it. You’ve just kind of got to let the wind do what it does.”

The 45-year-old Smith had a 68. He won the 2002 Buick Classic in New York for his lone tour title.

“I’m starting to get comfortable playing golf again, which is nice, and it’s fun,” Smith said. “All three days have been fun. I’m just trying to keep taking steps. I feel like I’m taking steps.”

Smith has limited tour status.

“It’s one of the only weeks of the year that I know I’m going to get in, so I can kind of mentally prepare for playing for it,” Smith said. “When I get here, it’s not like getting in Tuesday night and then trying to hustle to the tournament and then playing.”

Jon Curran and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo were a stroke back. Curran had a 70, and Grillo shot 72.

Second-round leader Alex Cejka dropped four strokes on the final four holes to fall into a tie for fifth at 4 under. He finished with a 75, making bogeys on the par-5 15th and par-4 17th and a double bogey on the par-5 18th.

Canada’s Adam Hadwin (68) of Abbotsford, B.C. also was 4 under along with Scott Pinckney (71), Zimbabwe’s Brendon de Jonge (71) and Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti (69).

Stephen Ames carded a 2-over 74 Saturday and dropped 23 spots into a tie for 54th.

DORAL, Fla. – J.B. Holmes kept his lead. Rory McIlroy lost his cool.

Holmes was 11 shots worse than his tournament record-tying 62, finishing with a tee shot in the water and a double bogey on the 18th hole Friday for a 1-over 73. That still was enough to take a two-shot lead over Ryan Moore (71) into the weekend at the Cadillac Championship.

McIlroy made the wrong kind of splash at Trump National Doral – first with a shot, then with his club.

On a wild afternoon of eagles, birdies and big numbers at every turn, McIlroy produced the biggest highlight when he pulled his 3-iron into the water on the par-5 eighth, and then heaved the club some 50 yards into the middle of the lake.

“Felt good at the time,” McIlroy said. “Look, I just let frustration get the better of me.”

McIlroy managed to salvage a bogey, made three birdies on the back nine and shot a 2-under 70 to stay in the hunt at this World Golf Championship. He was still eight shots behind Holmes, though the Blue Monster is a tough course for anyone to protect a lead.

And it didn’t take much to get into trouble.

Holmes began the second round with a 360-yard drive and a 6-iron onto the green at the par 5. It rolled into the water, and he made his first bogey of the tournament. His approach on the third hole came up just enough short to go into the water for another bogey. And his tee shot on the 18th was pulled just enough for another splash. He at least countered with five birdies to stay in the lead.

Holmes was at 9-under 135.

He was more irritated by the bogey on No. 1 than the double bogey at the end of his round, and what set him off was a reminder than he thought the old Blue Monster was too easy for a World Golf Championship.

“There’s a difference between easy and hitting two perfect shots and the ball going in the water,” Holmes said. “That’s a joke. I hit a 6-iron straight up in the air, it landed 3 feet off the left of the green and 5 feet on it and it goes in the water on the right side of the green. That’s not hard. That’s stupid. That’s unfair.”

Still, he was in a good mood heading into the weekend.

Adam Scott made six birdies in his round of 68 and was three shots behind at 6-under 138. Masters champion Bubba Watson made a pair of eagles, including a bunker shot he holed at the 10th, for a 69. Henrik Stenson bounced back from a double bogey in the water at the par-3 fourth hole with three straight birdies in his round of 71. They were at 4-under 140, five shots behind.

Moore managed to avoid trouble for most of the day, dropping his lone shot at the 14th from a bunker. He has made par or better on 34 of the 36 holes he has played. He used the word “fluke” to describe his 66 (with a double bogey on the last hole) and the 62 by Holmes.

“I don’t know if it would have real really mattered what golf course either of us were on,” he said. “I was hitting good shots and hitting them next to the hole and making every putt I looked at. So I think that was more the players than golf course. Today, I think this was how this golf course plays. It’s just a really difficult golf course.”

Scott’s 68 was the low round of the day, while the average score again was about 73.4 For the second straight day, only seven players shot in the 60s. Scott thought his first-round 70 was good, too, except that he was eight shots behind.

Like everyone else, he couldn’t figure out how Holmes shot 62, and there was some relief to see Holmes play a more ordinary round.

“He might have had the round of his life – and certainly round of the year already – yesterday,” Scott said. “I don’t know if there’s going to be better than that anyway. … And for me, sitting eight shots back after a pretty good round myself yesterday, I just have to hope he’s not going to do it again, and I can slowly pick away at those eight shots.”

Holmes didn’t feel as though he played much worse than his 62 in the opening round, except for not making as many putts.

Ultimately, he was pleased with his position because he still had a better score than anyone else. The Blue Monster has a mean streak, though, and now it’s a matter of Holmes and those chasing him to hang on.

“If you had told me at the beginning of the week I would have a two-shot lead after two rounds, I would have said, `All right, sounds good.’ Like I said, I’ve been playing great,” Holmes said. “Played great today.”

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Alex Cejka birdied three of his last five holes Friday for a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke lead in the PGA Tour’s wind-swept Puerto Rico Open.

Cejka birdied Nos. 5, 7 and 9 in a bogey-free round to reach 7-under 137 at Trump International-Puerto Rico. A four-time European Tour winner, the 44-year-old Czech-born German is winless on the PGA Tour.

“I like it here,” Cejka said. “I’ve been coming here for a lot of years. … My short game is great. I make a lot of putts when I need to and I’m in a great position right now.”

He has made only one bogey in 36 holes.

“It’s windy all day long,” Cejka said. “Sometimes it gusts a little bit more, sometimes a little bit less. But it’s a consistent wind, and since we got here on Monday or Tuesday, all these players, it’s been the same. Same direction, same kind of strengths of the wind, so you can adapt to the wind condition.”

Brandon Hagy was second. Making his third PGA Tour start, he birdied his final hole for a 67.

“I played well today, controlled my ball, which you have to,” Hagy said. “It’s very windy out there. I just kind of tried to let it go and hit good golf shots. It was a good day.”

Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo was third at 5 under after a 70.

Defending champion Chesson Hadley topped the group at 3 under after a 70.

First-round leader Mark Hubbard followed his opening 68 with a 74 to drop to 2 under.

Sitting even-par thru 36 holes are Canadians Adam Hadwin and Stephen Ames. The pair have a share of 31st after matching even-round 72s Friday.

Failing to advance to weekend play were Team Canada’s Corey Conners, an amateur from Listowel, Ont. and Roger Sloan of Merrit, B.C. Conners finished 4-over par (74-74), while Sloan was 10-over (77-77).

DORAL, Fla. – J.B. Holmes never liked the old Blue Monster at Doral because he thought it was too easy for a World Golf Championship.

He said this with a straight face Thursday after a 10-under 62 that tied the tournament record at the Cadillac Championship, gave him a four-shot lead and left the rest of this world-class field to wonder just how he managed.

“I was able to hit the shots where I envisioned and hit good shots, and today the putter was on,” Holmes said. “Put that combination together, you do everything pretty good, you’re going to shoot a good score.”

He made it sound as easy as it looked. Except that Trump National Doral wasn’t all that easy for everyone else.

Rory McIlroy again felt tentative with his swing and shot 40 on his opening nine holes before finishing without a par on his last six holes – an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys that allowed him to salvage a 73. The world’s No. 1 player has shot 73-74-73 in his three rounds in Florida this year.

Phil Mickelson shot 74 and failed to make a birdie for the first time in 186 rounds on the PGA Tour, dating to the final day at Olympic Club in the 2012 U.S. Open.

“Ten under? You’re joking,” Shane Lowry said after a hard-fought 71.

Ryan Moore was hanging with him until he hit his tee shot into the water on the par-5 18th hole and made double bogey. He still had a 66.

“It was a very fair test of golf,” Moore said. “I mean, it’s difficult, but you can make some birdies.”

Dustin Johnson ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine and was at 68, along with Alexander Levy of France and Rickie Fowler, who thought his round was solid. “To shoot 68 in some tough conditions on a tough golf course and be six back, wouldn’t really expect that,” Fowler said.

Henrik Stenson, making his American debut, had six birdies and joined Phoenix Open winner Brooks Koepka at 69. The group at 68 included Adam Scott, who used a conventional putter for the first time in just over four years.

Holmes last played at Doral in 2010, missing time with injuries, not the least of which was surgery to remove a piece of his skull in 2011. Gil Hanse renovated the Blue Monster to make it more sensational with so much water hugging the fairways and greens. That was never an issue for Holmes. He finished his round with an 8-foot par putt, which he said was the closest he came to bogey all day.

“By about 5 feet,” he said.

The start was nothing short of deal. Holmes two-putted for birdie on the par-5 10th, holed a 35-foot birdie putt on the 11th, and then smashed a drive downwind on the 603-yard 12th hole. He hit 6-iron thinking he might be able to clear the bunker, and it turned out better than he imagined, a foot away from the hole for an eagle.

The rest of the round, playing in tropical warmth and typical south Florida wind, was a matter of keeping it below the hole and making putts.

This was never his favorite WGC event the two previous times he played it.

“One of my least favorite tracks on tour,” he said of the previous design. “It was just too easy. I felt like for a World Golf Championship, 22 under winning shouldn’t really happen. It’s a very difficult golf course. I played great today.”

He was right on both counts.

The average score was 73.4, meaning that Holmes was more than 11 shots better than the field, the best standard of a great round. His 62 matched the tournament record set by Bubba Watson at Doral in 2012, and Sergio Garcia and Retief Goosen at Mount Juliet in Ireland in 2002.

McIlroy’s standard is slightly off at the moment.

Already a winner in Dubai and a runner-up in Abu Dhabi, he missed the cut last week at the Honda Classic after a month break and said he felt tentative. A week later, not much changed. Poor tee shots kept him from reaching the par 5s on the back nine in two. He twice failed to save par from the bunkers. And then from the middle of the fairway on the 18th hole – the tee shot is supposed to be the hard part – he was caught between clubs and tugged a 7-iron short, down the bank and into the water for a double bogey.

On his next tee shot, McIlroy was 5 yards away from going into the water – on the adjacent Red Course.

“It is very good on the range and it is very good in normal play when I’m not playing a tournament,” McIlroy said. “Then I’ve got a card in my hand the last couple weeks and it just hasn’t quite been there. It’s nice you can get round rounds this week and sort of try to play your way into some sort of rhythm. I don’t feel like it’s that far away. That’s the frustrating thing.”

But he’s far away from the lead. McIlroy already was 11 shots behind.

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – PGA Tour rookie Mark Hubbard closed with a birdie in windy conditions Thursday for a one-stroke lead in the Puerto Rico Open.

Hubbard opened with a 4-under 68 at Trump International Golf Club-Puerto Rico. He birdied Nos. 4, 5 and 6, dropped a stroke on the par-3 eighth and finished with a birdie on the par-4 ninth.

“It played tough out there with the wind, but I hit a lot of really good kind of three-quarter and half shots into the wind,” Hubbard said. “I actually probably played the into the wind holes better than the downwind holes where I had to just hit normal shots. But I drove it pretty well, kept it in the fairway and made a lot of solid 5-, 6-footers.”

Hubbard made news last month when he proposed to Meaghan McCurley on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach during the first round in the AT&T Pebble National Pro-Am.

“I’ve been getting a lot of press,” Hubbard said.

Chris Smith, Billy Mayfair and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo were tied for second.

The 45-year-old Smith last played the tour full-time in 2005.

“It was super windy,” Smith said. “I was up super early this morning and it was still dark out and I was out walking around, trying to wake up and warm up at 3:45 this morning, and it was howling, and I was like, `What in the heck.’ But yeah, I think it’s going to be like that all week, so it’s OK. … At home it’s like 15 below right now, so I really like the fact that it’s 80 degrees.”

David Duval, Jonathan Byrd and Alex Cejka were in the group at 70.

The 43-year-old Duval is winless since the 2001 British Open.

“I hit it good and I putted really well,” Duval said. “I made a couple to keep me going, two-putted several times from 25 to 40 feet and didn’t have to sweat over the second one.”

Defending champion Chesson Hadley opened with a 71.

Two-shots back of Hadley were Canadians Stephen Ames and Adam Hadwin. The duo carded even-par 72s.

Amateur Corey Conners of Listowell, Ont. carded a 2-over 74, which included two bogeys. The Team Canada member was T63.

Roger Sloan of Merrit, B.C. shot a 5-over 77.