Brian Harman defeated Ryan Gerard by three strokes to win the Valero Texas Open, picking up his fourth career PGA Tour win and first since the 2023 Open Championship.
Harman was leading Andrew Novak by three shots heading into the final round. Wind gusts of up to 30 mph made for a challenging front nine, but Harman managed to shoot a 3-over-par 39 on the opening 9 holes. Novak shot a 1-over-par 37 to shrink Harman’s lead to one and Gerard started the day at 3-under-par, sitting nine strokes off the lead.
Harman, a former major champion, made two birdies early in the back nine to give himself a cushion. He ended up needing that cushion after back-to-back bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes. Novak never challenged Harman on the back nine even when Harman faltered, making four bogeys of his own to fall out of contention. Gerard played steady golf despite the windy conditions, surpassing Novak, but ultimately lost his chance for the title with a bogey on 18.
Even so, his second-place finish was not only his highest finish of the season, but also of his career. Riding the high of this success and a top-10 finish last week at the Houston Open, Gerard will get to play the next signature, RBC Heritage, via the AON Swing 5.
Meanwhile, Harman settled down after his two bogeys and parred the final two holes to claim victory at TPC San Antonio. Harman’s closing round of 75 is the highest final round score by a winner of the tournament since Jon Rahm shot 75 to win the 2020 Memorial Tournament.
Next week, the PGA Tour heads to Augusta, GA, for the Masters. This highly anticipated first major of the year will test players both mentally and physically as two-time champion Scottie Scheffler will look to defend his title and win his third green jacket.
