SAN ANTONIO — Brian Harman handled the wind and the chill Sunday with a pair of key birdies on the back nine Sunday in the Valero Texas Open, closing with a 3-over 75 for a three-shot victory, his first title since the 2023 Open Championship.
Harman began the final round with a three-shot lead and it soon became a tight battle with Andrew Novak, who was going for his first PGA Tour victory and a spot in the Masters.
Harman never lost the lead, though it dropped to one shot with a bogey on No. 6 and a double bogey on the ninth hole when he had to take a penalty drop after a pulled tee shot and still could only advance it to the fairway.
But he holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole to give him some breathing room, and he got up-and-down from a bunker on the par-5 14th and his lead was back to three shots.
He followed that with a pair of bogeys, but left the mistakes at the end to Novak.
“Just so proud of how I handled these conditions,” Harman said. “This golf course gave me all I wanted today and happy to come out on top.”
Novak, two shots behind with two to play, bogeyed the 17th with a bad chip and the par-5 18th with a bad drive. He shot 76 and fell into a tie for third with Maverick McNealy (72).
Ryan Gerard made his only bogey on the final hole for a 69 to finish runner-up. It was one of only seven rounds under par at the TPC San Antonio.
Golf Channel StaffHarman was still under pressure with two holes to play, especially coming off back-to-back bogeys. His tee shots bounced through the bunker and into the rough, and he pitched to about 12 feet for a stress-free par.
Novak drove over the green, but his pitch up the shelf hit the slope and rolled back to his feet. His birdie chip ran 6 feet by and he missed the putt to fall three behind.
On the 18th, Novak pulled his tee shot in the barren area of trees and scrub brush. ...
