PGA Tour player Brian Harman took the lead during Round 3 of the Valero Texas Open on Saturday at TPC San Antonio.
Harman started and finished the day on top of the leaderboard with a 12-under-par total. Despite dropping two strokes, Harman managed to make a comeback on hole 14 and 17 thanks to a birdie on each.
“I knew I’d get some birdie chances on that back nine, just had to kind of survive the front; there’s some really tough holes,” Harman said. “[I] got out of position a few times off the tee and really had to scramble.”
On a par-5 hole 14, he landed in the left rough which left him 273 yards from the hole. Despite his second shot landing in the right bunker, it still gave him a clear shot to the hole. A chip out of the bunker left Harman with a 12-inch putt and he sunk it to birdie.
On a 321-yard par-4 hole 17; his first shot found the left bunker. Though Harman had the shortest drives from the tee-box, he positioned the ball closer to the pin on his second and third shots, which helped him to maintain his lead. The St. Simons native managed to find the right side of the green after a chip shot landed the ball six inches from the hole and putted to birdie.
“The pins were in these little bitty pockets and stuff. So happy I could lean on my short-game,” Harman said. “The stat sheet won’t say it, but I made some solid par putts — five-footers, six-footers, eight-footers — that don’t show up as pretty but they sure keep your round alive.”
PGA Tour players Andrew Novak and Tom Hoge climbed the leaderboard with a total 9-under-par and a 8-under-par, respectively.
“Out here tomorrow as well, it’s just going to be patience; pars are going to do really well,” Novak said about positioning himself to take second place. “Obviously, it depends on what guys do, but if I can just keep it in front of me, stay out of the disaster, keep it out of the jungle, give my putter a few chances, see how it goes.”
Hoge made no mistakes on his scorecard during the third round, playing even-par most of the day, making birdies on hole 10, 12, 14 and 17.
“I felt like there were a few more birdie opportunities on the back nine. On 17 the tee was up, you could drive 17 today and 14 you could get there with iron in,” Hoge said. “So a few easier holes, a few more opportunities. Then I hit a couple better iron shots as well on 10 and 12 to give myself some chances.”
Round 4 of the Valero Texas Open will take place Sunday at TPC San Antonio.
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