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.
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Harman never lost the lead, though it dropped to one shot until birdies on the 12th and 14th holes. He followed that with a pair of bogeys, but left the mistakes at the end to Novak.
Ryan Gerard had a 69 — one of only seven rounds under par — to finish runner-up. Novak’s bogey-bogey finish for a 76 dropped him into a tie for third with Maverick McNealy (72).
LIV Golf League
DORAL, Fla. (AP) — Marc Leishman played bogey-free on the Blue Monster for a 4-under 68 at Trump National Doral and a one-shot victory over Charl Schwartzel in LIV Golf Doral, his first victory on the Saudi-funded circuit.
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U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who led going into the final round, made bogey on the par-5 opening hole, had two double bogeys and shot 75 to finish fifth.
Leishman picked up three of his birdies on the par 5s and closed with eight straight pars to finish at 6-under 210. Schwartzel shot 66, with Sergio Garcia (71) finishing third.
Ripper won the team title.
PGA Tour Champions
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Angel Cabrera won on the PGA Tour Champions on Sunday, 20 months after he was released after spending two years in an Argentine prison for gender violence. He made a late birdie for a 1-under 71 to win the inaugural James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational.
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Cabrera, a former Masters and U.S. Open champion, was imprisoned for threats and harassment against two of his ex-girlfriends. He was released on parole in August 2023 and cleared to return to the PGA Tour Champions later that year.
He returns to the Masters next week — former champions have lifetime exemptions — and the 55-year-old Argentine known as “Pato” will arrive with his first victory in more than 10 years.
The victory means Cabrera is now fully exempt on the 50-and-older circuit through 2026. And he goes to the Masters on a high note.
Korn Ferry Tour
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Jeremy Gandon won the Club Car Championship for his first Korn Ferry Tour title, blasting out of a bunker to 3 feet for birdie on the first hole of a playoff with Rick Lamb.
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Gandon won in his 15th start on the tour. The 28-year-old Frenchman made 16 starts last season on the PGA Tour Americas. He played at Kansas State.
Tied for the third-round lead with two-time PGA Tour winner Russell Knox, Gandon closed with a 3-under 69 to match Lamb (67) at 17-under 271 on the Deer Creek layout at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club.
Knox (70) was a stroke back with Cole Sherwood (64) and Garrick Higgo (67).
Other tours
Mimi Rhodes of England won her second straight title on the Ladies European Open, closing with a 2-under 71 for a one-shot victory over Casandra Alexander in the Joburg Ladies Open. … Maxwell Moldovan made eagle on the par-5 closing hole at the Rio Olympic Golf Club to post a 3-under 68 for a one-shot victory over George Markham in the Brazil Open on the PGA Tour Americas. … Lala Anai closed with a 2-under 70 and defeated Mi-Jeong Jeon in a playoff to win the Yamaha Ladies Open Katsuragi on the Japan LPGA. … Yewon Lee closed with a 2-under 70 for a one-shot victory in Doosan E&C We’ve Championship on the Korea LPGA.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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