SAN ANTONIO (AP) — 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 British Open.
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.
Harman 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. He pitched back to the fairway, tried to reach the green and narrowly went into the creek. He had to stand on a boulder to play onto the green and he missed the 10-foot par putt.
Patrick Fishburn had an eagle-birdie finish for a 68 and was part of a large group that tied for fifth. The eagle came on the 17th hole, where Fishburn holed a 105-foot putt. It was the longest putt anyone made on the PGA Tour since 2008.
Harman had been struggling since his major breakthrough at Hoylake and was on the verge of falling out of the top 50. Now he heads to the Masters with a much-needed win.
Adding to the difficult of the conditions was his mind being on a close family friend, Cathy Dowdy. She spent time in a coma after helping to rescue Harman's 6-year-old son from a rip current in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, last October while his family was on vacation.
“Just playing with a heavy heart today. Ms. Cathy, she's not doing so good,” Harman said. “Just thinking about her all day.”
The conditions were so difficult that four players, including Tommy Fleetwood, failed to break 80 and the course played to an average score of 74.8.
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Brian Harman tees off on the 10th hole during the first round of the Texas Open golf tournament, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in San Antonio, Texas. (AP Photos/Rodolfo Gonzalez)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump’s doctor says the oldest man elected president is “fully fit” to serve as commander in chief as the White House released results Sunday of Trump's recent physical exam. The 78-year-old Trump is 20 pounds lighter since his checkup as president in 2020 showed him bordering on obesity.
His physician, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, cited an “active lifestyle” that ”continues to contribute significantly” to the Republican president's well-being. Trump turns 79 on June 14.
In a three-page summary of the comprehensive exam from Friday, the doctor said Trump is “fully fit to execute the duties of Commander-in-Chief and Head of State.” Trump weighed 224 at the checkup, down from 244 at that physical more than four years ago.
The summary noted that Trump previously had cataract surgery on both eyes, but did not include a date or dates. A common procedure among aging people, the surgery typically involves removing a cloudy eye lens and replacing it with an artificial lens to help clear up vision.
In July 2024, according to the report, then-candidate Trump had a colonoscopy that found a benign polyp and the condition called diverticulosis. It’s a common condition in which the walls of the intestine weaken with age. It can lead to inflammation, though most people with it never experience any problems.
Trump again passed a Montreal Cognitive Assessment test, a short screening test to assess different brain functions, Barbabella wrote. The test includes remembering a list of spoken words and listening to a list of random numbers and repeating them backward, among other questions.
Known as MoCA, it’s the same test Trump took in 2018 and later recounted in an interview in which he described reciting a list of words in order: “Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV.”
The president also was screened Friday for depression and anxiety, and had normal scores on questionnaires for those conditions, according to the report.
Trump may be the oldest person elected to the nation's highest office, but he is four years behind Democrat Joe Biden, who was 82 when his presidential term ended in January.
Barbabella wrote that Trump remains in “excellent health” with “robust” cardiac, pulmonary, neurological and general physical function."
The doctor said Trump’s days include participating in multiple meetings, public appearances, media availabilities and “frequent victories in golf events.” Trump is an avid golfer who said he recently won tournaments played at clubs he owns in Florida
Trump’s cholesterol levels have improved over time, helped by the medications rosuvastatin and ezetimibe.
At his physical in January 2018, his total cholesterol was 223. In early 2019, the reading came in at 196 and it stood at 167 in 2020. Today it is 140. Ideally, total cholesterol should be less than 200.
His blood pressure was 128 over 74. That is considered elevated, and people in that situation are likely to develop high blood pressure unless steps are taken to control the condition.
Trump has a resting heart rate of 62 beats per minute, in line with previous tests. A normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 beats to 100 beats per minute, and generally, a lower rate implies better cardiovascular fitness.
Trump also takes aspirin, which can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
The exam found minor sun damage to Trump's skin and a few benign lesions, but no concerning lesions or growth. It also confirmed scarring on Trump's right ear from a gunshot wound during an assassination attempt at a Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally in July 2024.
Barbabella performed and supervised the medical examination of Trump and said it included diagnostic and laboratory testing in addition to consultations with 14 specialists.
Barbabella is a decorated Navy physician who specializes in emergency and tactical medicine and served several tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has a Purple Heart and a Legion of Merit award, two of the military's highest honors.
Barbabella is also the third consecutive osteopathic doctor to serve as physician to the president, following Biden's doctor and one of the doctors who cared for Trump in his first term. Barbabella ran a naval health clinic in Havelock, North Carolina, before Trump tapped him for the job.
Associated Press writer Jonathan Poet in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
The report on President Donald Trump's health after his physical on April 11, 2025, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, released by the White House on behalf of his physician Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, is photographed Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
The report on President Donald Trump's health after his physical on April 11, 2025, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, released by the White House on behalf of his physician Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, is photographed Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
President Donald Trump arrives at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, April 11, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
