After a blazing start to his tournament, Brian Harman managed his lead over the weekend to capture his first career Valero win. An underdog victory for Harman can be the propulsion needed to make some noise at The Masters this week.
How It Happened
Harman was untouchable through his first two rounds at the Oaks Course. Seven birdies on Thursday with just one square on the scorecard which saw him right up near the top with an opening round 66. Harman didn’t get his first lead of the tournament until day 2 when he carded his second 66.
It seemed too easy throughout the first two days. Just 3 bogeys and 15 birdies going into the weekend Harman had a substantial lead on the field. Flying high off his near-perfect start to the Valero, the front 9 on Saturday hit Harman like a truck.
A two-over birdieless first half to his round saw Harman realign with the rest of the field. His cooling down combined with the heating up from the players below him made for an interesting tournament late on Saturday. At this point, players like Andrew Novak and Corey Conners could be seen in Harman’s rearview mirror.
The back 9 was key in Harman’s tournament life. A two under 34 brought him back to even on the day. It was an even bigger deal considering players like one of the favorites in Corey Conners, who had the low round of the day going into the last few holes, fell away at the end going 3 over on the last two holes.
Sunday was all about survive and advance. The fianl round’s boisturous conditions required lazer focus for its entirety. We saw the veteran play and the ability of someone who knows how to win on the PGA Tour come out of Harman. It sure wasn’t pretty especially with the double bogey on 9. But Harman was able to professionaly close the show. His win at the Valero was his 4th on Tour and propelled him to 19th in the FedEx Cup rankings.
Augusta Implications
With $1.7 million in his pocket, Harman surely has to feel good heading into Augusta this week. Sadly for him, history isn’t kind to those who win the final tournament before The Masters. Just twice in PGA Tour history has the player who won the green jacket won the Tour event the week before. The last player to complete the feat was Phil Mickelson in 2006. Mickelson won the BellSouth Classic the week before claiming his second green jacket.
But even if history doesn’t agree, there’s no doubt that Harman is feeling good about his golf game. Harman’s history at Augusta isn’t pretty so a boost in form is maybe what he needs to score low. In his 5 appearances at The Masters, Harman has only one finish inside the top 40 once in 2021 with a T12 finish. The worrying stat is in his two most recent performances. Harman missed both cuts finishing at 5 and 7 over respectively.
It can’t be undersold the importance of peaking at the right moment in professional golf. Harman can confidently go into the week thinking he knows he can beat the field on his day. Harman knows fully well that the beast that is Augusta National will take all he can give. The momentum from the Valero will be needed in his fullest force if Harman wants to bring home his first green jacket Sunday night.
Main photo credit:
© Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
