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Brian Harman kept opening the door for Andrew Novak in Sunday's final round of the Valero Texas Open.
Novak never took a step inside.
Harman, the feisty left-hander from Savannah, Ga., made four bogeys and a double-bogey under windy, chilly conditions at the TPC San Antonio Oaks Course but never lost the three-shot lead with which he started the day despite a closing 75 and won his fourth PGA Tour title by three shots over Ryan Gerard at 9-under-par 279.
Harman survived bogeys at Nos. 4 and 6, a double-bogey at No. 9 after driving into a penalty area, and two more bogeys at Nos. 15 and 16. But Novak (76) matched Harman with bogeys twice, bogeyed the ninth to only pick up a shot and never was able to make a birdie on a hole Harman bogeyed for a two-shot swing.
Novak pulled within one shot twice, then bogeyed three of his last four holes when his putter betrayed him, and fell into a tie for third with Maverick McNealy (72) at 5-under.
Seven players tied for fifth at 4-under, including Patrick Fishburn and Thorbjorn Olesen, who matched the day's low score with 68s. Fishburn had the distinction of making the second-longest putt since the PGA Tour began tracking distances electronically in 2003 when he drained a putt of 105 feet and 8 inches for eagle at the 335-yard par-4 17th hole.
Harman earned $1,710,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points for the victory, his first since the 2023 British Open at Hoylake. He moved 64 spots on the FedEx Cup list to a projected 19th and jumped 61 shots on the money list to 21st, with $2,352,137.
Harman hit only six fairways in the final round but made every important putt he needed and never three-putted all week. He was also 60 of 60 on putts of 7 feet or less.
Harman won despite playing the last 36 holes at 3-over. The weather turned windy and chilly for the weekend and the final-round scoring average of 74.803 was more than three shots higher than the second round.
Harman is also the fourth former Georgia Bulldog to win on the PGA Tour this season. Sepp Straka won the American Express, Harris English the Farmers Insurance Open and Russell Henley the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
It's on to the Augusta National Golf Club for the Masters Tournament, the first major championship of the season. Practices rounds begin on Monday, the Par 3 Contest is on Wednesday and the first round is on Thursday.
MAJOR INSIDER: Get Golfweek's best stories, latest updates from Augusta National straight to your inbox
Novak and Gerard were the two closest players to Harman who were not eligible for the Masters and needed a victory to get an invitation.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: PGA Tour Valero Texas Open: Brian Harman grinds out fourth Tour title
Continue reading...
Novak never took a step inside.
Harman, the feisty left-hander from Savannah, Ga., made four bogeys and a double-bogey under windy, chilly conditions at the TPC San Antonio Oaks Course but never lost the three-shot lead with which he started the day despite a closing 75 and won his fourth PGA Tour title by three shots over Ryan Gerard at 9-under-par 279.
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Harman survived bogeys at Nos. 4 and 6, a double-bogey at No. 9 after driving into a penalty area, and two more bogeys at Nos. 15 and 16. But Novak (76) matched Harman with bogeys twice, bogeyed the ninth to only pick up a shot and never was able to make a birdie on a hole Harman bogeyed for a two-shot swing.
Novak pulled within one shot twice, then bogeyed three of his last four holes when his putter betrayed him, and fell into a tie for third with Maverick McNealy (72) at 5-under.
Seven players tied for fifth at 4-under, including Patrick Fishburn and Thorbjorn Olesen, who matched the day's low score with 68s. Fishburn had the distinction of making the second-longest putt since the PGA Tour began tracking distances electronically in 2003 when he drained a putt of 105 feet and 8 inches for eagle at the 335-yard par-4 17th hole.
Brian Harman was perfect on short putts
Harman earned $1,710,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points for the victory, his first since the 2023 British Open at Hoylake. He moved 64 spots on the FedEx Cup list to a projected 19th and jumped 61 shots on the money list to 21st, with $2,352,137.
You must be registered for see images attach
Harman hit only six fairways in the final round but made every important putt he needed and never three-putted all week. He was also 60 of 60 on putts of 7 feet or less.
Harman won despite playing the last 36 holes at 3-over. The weather turned windy and chilly for the weekend and the final-round scoring average of 74.803 was more than three shots higher than the second round.
Harman is also the fourth former Georgia Bulldog to win on the PGA Tour this season. Sepp Straka won the American Express, Harris English the Farmers Insurance Open and Russell Henley the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Masters Tournament on tap this week
It's on to the Augusta National Golf Club for the Masters Tournament, the first major championship of the season. Practices rounds begin on Monday, the Par 3 Contest is on Wednesday and the first round is on Thursday.
MAJOR INSIDER: Get Golfweek's best stories, latest updates from Augusta National straight to your inbox
Novak and Gerard were the two closest players to Harman who were not eligible for the Masters and needed a victory to get an invitation.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: PGA Tour Valero Texas Open: Brian Harman grinds out fourth Tour title
Continue reading...
