Brian Harman wins Valero Texas Open while irking Andrew Novak in the process
PGA Tour pro Andrew Novak was seen shaking his head in disgust at the length of time Brian Harman was taking over his putt on the par-5 8th in the final round of the Valero Texas Open.
Brian Harman | -9 |
Ryan Gerard | -6 |
Maverick McNealy | -5 |
Andrew Novak | -5 |
Brian Harman may have captured his fourth career PGA Tour title at the Valero Texas Open on Sunday, but the big talking point was the way he irked his playing partner Andrew Novak as a result of his pace of play.
Harman, 38, held a commanding three-shot lead thru 54 holes on 12-under par.
Despite not having his Sunday best out there on a breezy final day at TPC San Antonio, Harman still managed to seal the deal with a 3-over 75.
Harman finished the week at 9-under par and three shots clear of Ryan Gerard (69), who achieved his best-ever finish on the PGA Tour.
Novak had got to within one shot of Harman's lead on the front nine, but he endured a tough back nine and slumped to a 76 to finish tied third on 5-under par alongside Maverick McNealy (72).
The victory marked Harman's fourth of his PGA Tour career and the first since he etched his name on the famous Claret Jug at the 2023 Open.
Harman pocketed a cheque for $1.7m.
But the final round of the Valero Texas Open was not without its fair share of controversy, especially on the front nine.
When Harman stood over a 40-footer for birdie on the par-5 8th, he was twice seen backing off his putt while looking around him.
This appeared to very much irk his playing partner Novak, as you can see from the clip at the bottom of this page.
Novak, 30, was seen shaking his head in frustration as he watched Harman take his sweet-ass time.
Harman was also seen backing off a chip shot on the 6th hole as he looked around into the trees.
Sky Sports Golf's on-course commentator couldn't even understand what Harman was looking at since there were no fans anywhere near him to put him off.
The diminutive American is renowned as being one of the more deliberate players on the PGA Tour.
A large number of PGA Tour fans were seemingly as critical as Novak about Harman's pace of play on social media, even if it was windy out there.
Harman ended up two-putting for his par on the 8th, while Novak ended up walking off with a bogey to further add to his annoyance.
"Ohhh there's definitely a bit of needle there," said Sky Sports Golf's Nick Dougherty.
"Harman will play on this, if he knew Novak's reaction behind him then he would be loving what he's looking at."
Watch what happened here:
Even Andrew Novak is shaking his head at how slow Brian Harmon is. pic.twitter.com/p8dykF2Zn5
— Zach Buntrock (@buntygolf68) April 6, 2025
View full Texas Open scores here
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