J.B. Holmes trying to pace himself in practice rounds

Two days after winning the Houston Open, J.B. Holmes began his quest for back-to-back victories with a practice round Tuesday at Augusta National Golf Club.

Holmes, who won last week in a playoff over Johnson Wagner and Jordan Spieth, teed off at 1 p.m. with former Walker Cup teammate Brian Harman.

“I’ve been playing well all year and anytime you’re coming off a win, you have a lot of confidence,” Holmes said. “I just want to enjoy the Masters and have some fun. I feel like the majority of my preparation was done last week.”

Holmes opens tournament play at 10:52 a.m. Thursday with Martin Kaymer and Brandt Snedeker.

On Tuesday, Holmes and Harman played the first six holes of the second nine together before a brief thunderstorm interrupted play. The two took cover in a van for 15 minutes before playing with Chris Kirk and Brendon Todd for the final three holes.

“The course is in great shape, tremendous shape,” Holmes said. “It’s Augusta, so you have to hit the right spots, putt well and you never know what can happen.”

Despite hitting shots Monday on the practice range, Tuesday was the first time Holmes had seen the course this week. He said he plans to play the first nine Wednesday.

“It’s such an amazing course that you want to play a ton,” Holmes said. “But I have to be smart with my body and conserve energy. Right now, I’m just trying to not overdo myself and make sure I’m good physically for the weekend.”

Holmes eagled the par-5 13th but made it clear that his goals Tuesday did not revolve around scoring.

“I hit a couple good shots on 13 and was able to get an eagle,” Holmes said. “But it’s just a practice round and the main point of today was getting the speed of the greens and getting another look at the course.”