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USA Today
18-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Brian Harman grinds out his second round at RBC Heritage, trails leader Justin Thomas by 5
Brian Harman grinds out his second round at RBC Heritage, trails leader Justin Thomas by 5 HILTON HEAD, S.C. — The last few weeks have been a wild ride for Savannah native Brian Harman as he picked up his fourth career victory at the Valero Texas Open and then went on to play one of the most stressful events in the world at the 89th Masters Tournament — before coming back close to home for his 16th appearance in the RBC Heritage. The win in San Antonio came a year and eight months after Harman's career-defining victory at the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in England. He rode the adrenaline rush from the Valero win straight to Augusta National, where he finished in a tie for 36th last week. After shooting a 66 that had him in a tie for fifth after the first round of the 57th RBC Heritage on Thursday, Harman said he was feeling a little run down after a mentally taxing few weeks. But he was still able to grind his way around Harbour Town Golf Links to shoot a 2-under par 69. He is at 7-under for the tournament in a tie for sixth place headed into the weekend. Harman birdied the par-5 fifth hole with a 6-foot putt and made another birdie at No. 12, where he holed his longest putt of the day from 25 feet. He dialed in a 54-degree wedge at the par-4 16th to 6 feet for another birdie. He saved par on the 18th from 5 feet, and had another strong par save with an 11-foot putt on the par-3 14th hole. "I was a little off today, especially with the wedges and happy to get in with a couple under," said the 38-year old Savannah Christian and University of Georgia alum. "I'm feeling a little rundown. Just a win, and then the Masters takes it out of you every year. I just need to regroup and try to get some rest. "I'd love to go practice wedges because that was kind of the shortcoming today," he said. "But at the same time, I know I'm probably better served to go lay on the couch." Pace of play not an issue at RBC Heritage The RBC Heritage is a signature event on the PGA Tour with 72 players in the field — and no cut, so everyone is competing on the weekend. The pace of play has been fast the first two days and Harman got around Harbour Town Golf Links with playing partner Byeong Hun An of South Korea in just over four hours Friday. He said that was a benefit of playing in a signature event as opposed to a full-field event, where pace of play can become a problem. "In threesomes with split tees, there's nowhere to go. You just can't play. We would be probably 4:45 to 5 (hours) in threesomes here off of two tees," Harman said. "It's one of those things. That's what the Tour is trying to figure out how we're going to balance it. I don't think the Tour really wants to shrink fields, but we can't finish in daylight ... Guys take longer because the courses are harder, and we can't finish. "It certainly helps get in a rhythm," he said of playing in twosomes. "If you're standing around watching the group in front of you all day — you have to find things to occupy your mind. I've played fine in threesomes, but I would prefer it, especially on the weekend, to be in twosomes." Pace of play shouldn't be a problem this weekend as the format will continue to be twosomes. Harman is looking to better his best finish at Harbour Town of a tie for 7th in 2023. "I had a bunch of looks, just didn't really have it close to the hole very much," Harman said of his Friday round. "I've just got to rest up and get some sleep tonight and hopefully fire on all cylinders next couple of days." Justin Thomas leads by two after 36 holes Thomas shot a course-record tying 61 on Thursday and returned to fire a 69 on Friday. He leads by two of Si Woo Kim, who shot 64, and Russell Henley. They are the only three golfers double digits under par so far this week. Scottie Scheffler is four shots back in a tie for sixth. Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@ Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
2025 Masters Wednesday recap
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WSAV) — Wednesday at Augusta National Golf Club saw several players take advantage of the last day of preparation before the start of the 2025 Masters. A couple of players to keep an eye on locally are Savannah native Brian Harman and Bluffton resident Brian Campbell. Harman seeks his second career major championship. The Savannah Christian alum won the 2023 Open Championship. He enters the week after a triumph at the Valero Texas Open last week. As for Campbell, this is his Masters debut. He earned a spot in the field after winning the Mexico Open in February. Campbell visited Augusta National three times during the practice rounds for the Masters while he was in college at the University of Illinois. However, a couple of weeks ago marked the first time he played the course, which was a practice round. The world's No. 1 ranked golfer, Scottie Scheffler, has yet to get a win in 2025. The reigning Masters Champion hopes to become the fourth golfer to go back-to-back at Augusta National. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Forbes
09-04-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
A Look At The Lefty's 2025 Masters Odds Including Mickelson, MacIntyre, Harman And Highsmith
The Masters is 'A tradition unlike any other', and the 89th Masters Tournament will set a record with eight left-handed golfers playing in the 2025 event. That includes Masters champions Phil Mickelson (3), Bubba Watson (2) and Mike Weir (1), who have won a combined six green jackets between them from 2003-2014. Another major champion, 2023 Open Championship big longshot winner Brian Harman, is playing in his seventh Masters with a best finish of T21 in 2021. Harman won the 2025 Valero Texas Open last week, and he'll try to improve his 2025 Masters odds after missing the cut each of the past three years. The favorite to be the top left-handed player with the best finish in the 2025 Masters is Robert MacIntyre, who is playing in his third Masters with a best finish of T12 on debut in 2021. The 28-year-old Scottish pro is slightly favored over 23-year-old Akshay Bhatia, who finished T35 in his Masters debut last year with no rounds under par. Two former West Coast Conference college golfers and PGA Korn Ferry Tour graduates make their Masters debut this week. Matt McCarty played at Santa Clara and started 2024 on the Korn Ferry Tour. The 27-year-old won the inaugural Black Desert Championship in October in his third PGA Tour start to earn an invitation to the 2025 Masters Tournament. Lefty Joe Highsmith won the 2025 Cognizant Classic on March 2, and the 24-year-old Washington native and former Pepperdine golfer will join one of his mentors Fred Couples along with Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay for a practice round over the back 9 at Augusta National on Wed., April 9. Highsmith's press conference Tuesday shared some of the emotions of making it to Augusta to play in The Masters, and the atmosphere with so many fans even for the practice rounds. 'This is the tournament that every golfer wants to play in since they pick up the game,' Highsmith said. 'To be here and kind of just see the atmosphere and be inside the ropes this time is pretty special.' Masters odds are taking more action at the leading online sportsbooks, and the top golfers are drawing more watch and wager interest as they prepare for the speed and slopes at Augusta National. That includes the 12 top golfers who are the leading win contenders in the 2025 Masters Tournament. The eight left-handed golfers odds to win the Masters are all at least +5000, or 50/1 or greater. But top online sportsbook BetOnline offers Masters Props and specials with group betting options on golfers by country, former Masters champions, top LIV Golfer along with top left-handed golfer, with odds below along with (odds) to win the Masters. Golf odds from BetOnline and leading online sportsbooks refresh periodically and are subject to change, including on futures, props and live betting. As hundreds of thousands of people placed bets on the Super Bowl, including on popular player props, analysts say Georgia missed out on millions they could get from legalizing and taxing sports betting. With no regulated sports betting in Georgia, fans in the Peach state and other visitors to Augusta for the Masters will be unable to place bets at top U.S. sportsbooks. The cybersecurity group GeoComply estimates Georgia could be getting nearly $120 million annually from legalizing sports betting. But fans still have other options as they watch and wager on The Masters and understand the golf rules when betting on match-ups, futures and favorite players while also following the adjusted golf odds and placing live bets during the tournament. Panama-based BetOnline has been a market leader in providing more betting options for fans, and especially those political and sports-crazed fans in Georgia and the three most populated states that currently don't offer betting at U.S. online sportsbooks - California, Texas and Florida. So fans can get in the game and enjoy watch and wager entertainment with BetOnline for The Masters, and also next week's RBC Heritage Signature Event in South Carolina, where there is also no regulated U.S. sports betting. Scottie Scheffler won the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town last year one week after capturing his second green jacket and winning The Masters. As fans follow their favorite golfers and left-handers including Phil Mickelson, check out their tee times Thursday off hole No. 1 along with playing partners. All times Eastern. Follow The Masters and golfers betting odds with tips and trends as the left-handers try to make history again at Augusta. You can bet on it.
USA Today
06-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Why Brian Harman's heart was heavy after emotional victory at 2025 Valero Texas Open
Why Brian Harman's heart was heavy after emotional victory at 2025 Valero Texas Open Show Caption Hide Caption Brian Harman on his new putter that helped win 2025 Valero Texas Open Brian Harman shared the thought process behind switching putters at the 2025 Valero Texas Open. Brian Harman battled cold, windy conditions Sunday to earn his fourth PGA Tour victory at the 2025 Valero Texas Open. When he tapped in from less than a foot away for par on the closing hole at TPC San Antonio, the victory was one of the last things on his mind. On Sunday, Oct. 13, Harman was in China, and his wife took their kids with family friend Cathy Dowdy to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, for some vacation time. Harman's 6-year-old son was boogie boarding with a friend when a rip current pulled him out, and that's when Dowdy sprung into action. She went into the water after Harman's son. However, she couldn't get to him and was injured. Another bystander, Crane Cantrell, jumped in and saved them both. Dowdy was in a coma for months after the accident. This week, she was put into hospice care. "I think that bravery and doing something like that for people who aren't your blood is just the most beautiful thing you can do in this life," Harman said in November. Harman gave Dowdy plenty to be proud of Sunday. Harman's round was anything but smooth, but the conditions contributed to treacherous scoring conditions for the entire field in the final round. How Brian Harman on the Valero Texas Open His lead was trimmed to one shot at the turn following a double at the ninth, but he steadied the ship with birdies on Nos. 12 and 14 to get back to three ahead of Andrew Novak, the closest chaser for much of the afternoon who finished four shots behind. Harman, similar to what he did at the 2023 Open Championship, was stellar in the wind and cold and took punches before throwing them back. "It was more kind of a game of attrition," Harman said. "The conditions just wouldn't allow for a super low score. I didn't have my best stuff today, but good enough to make a few putts, and a couple birdies on the back nine helped a lot." The 38-year-old wasn't in great form on the greens this season, coming into the week 145th in Strokes Gained: Putting, which is normally his strength. For the week, he was fifth in putting and second in approach, not allowing his lack of length to hamper his ability to find pins in any spot. "I changed putters this week. Like I said, I looked at my stats from last year and I probably had the best iron game of my career, approach to the green, and probably my worst year from 10 to 20 feet putting," Harman said. "So still really good inside 10 feet, but that section there is where I was getting all my looks and I wasn't making any of them. I had toyed with the idea of switching putters for a while. "Picked that one up on Tuesday this week, it felt really good and it rolls nice, just kind of freed me up a little bit." Novak, who hasn't won on Tour but has been in contention a couple of times this season, faded late. He was 2 under thru 5 holes, but seven bogeys in his final 13 holes were his undoing, finishing in a tie for third. "It was a weird day," Novak said. "Obviously playing very, very difficult just like yesterday. I thought I did some things well and then struggled just on some basic stuff all day long. I've been fighting my swing a lot like recently and had a few issues with it again today." There were more rounds in the 80s on Sunday (4) than in the 60s (3). Ryan Gerard was one of the three who was in the 60s, signing for 69 to finish solo second and earn just over $1 million in prize money. "You feel like you're never really out of it if you can kind of use the wind as a backstop. I just really grinded hard. My chipping and putting was really good, but I just kind of kept it in play." But for Harman, he lassoed his emotions and galloped his way to victory Sunday, and he got to put a pair of cowboy boots on to celebrate. "I wear cowboy boots a fair amount at home, so it'll be a nice addition to the collection I have," he said. "I'll be really proud of them."
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Harman keeps calm in the winds to clinch Texas Open
Harman keeps calm in the winds to clinch Texas Open Brian Harman won the Texas Open in San Antonio on Sunday. (Jonathan Bachman) Brian Harman kept steady in the wind as he held on to his three-shot lead to win the PGA Tour Texas Open in San Antonio on Sunday. The former British Open champion had a late wobble, with back-to-back bogeys on the 15th and 16th but his closest challenger Andrew Novak was unable to take advantage. Advertisement Novak left birdie putts on the 16th and 17th short and Harman maintained his calm to make par on the final two holes and finish with a three-over-par 75 on a day when many struggled with conditions. It was the 38-year-old American's first tournament win since triumphing in the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. Harman had grabbed the lead during Friday's second round when he shot a six-under 66. The gusting winds at TPC San Antonio's Oaks Course made such a round tough to even consider on Sunday however and he suffered bogeys on the fourth and sixth holes and a double-bogey on the ninth where he suffered a penalty after driving into the native area. Advertisement But he steadied his round with birdies on the 12th and 15th, giving him enough of a cushion to survive his later troubles and emerge as comfortable winner. Ryan Gerard, who shot a three-under 69 finished runner-up with Novak ending tied for third with Maverick McNealy. Harman said he had been dealing with an emotional situation during the week as a family friend who saved his young son from drowning in October was struggling with her health. Cathy Dowdy was seriously injured in the October 13 incident at Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida and was in a coma as a result of her injuries. "I'm playing with a heavy heart today," said Harman after his victory, "Miss Kathy is not doing so good and I am just thinking about her all day". Advertisement Harman said it had been difficult to deal with the weather in the pressure filled final round. "I am just so proud of the way I handled these conditions. The golf course gave me all I wanted today and I am just happy to come out here on top," he added. Novak conceded he had struggled with his putting when it came down to the final holes. "I could never figure out the greens. I felt like the greens were like way slower today for some reason. I could not get a ball to the hole and...I can't even count how many putts I left short, and I don't know why they were slow today. I felt like I could not get the ball to the hole," he said. sev/rcw
