Valero Texas Open
Texas Open leader Brian Harman mum on big putting turnaround, though he's left some bread crumbs
Brian Harman walks the second fairway during the second round of the Valero Texas Open.
Jonathan Bachman
Something happened with Brian Harman’s putting. You don’t go from being ranked 145th this season on the PGA Tour in strokes gained on the greens to second in a single week. That’s what the 2023 Open Championship winner has pulled off in the Valero Texas Open, riding an extremely hot flatstick to a four-shot lead heading into the weekend in San Antonio.
We think we know the answer to the turnaround, but it’s not Harman who’s providing any insight on it. After he rolled in eight birdies in shooting a second-round six-under 66, Harman was asked about a possible putter change, and he coyly answered, “We’ll talk about that Monday.”
In a report this week, GolfWRX said the left-handed Harman had switched to a TaylorMade Spider 5K-ZT, a club that is new this year, with the “ZT” standing for zero torque. It’s worked beautifully in Texas, with Harman gaining 4.699 strokes on the greens and ranking first in strokes gained/approach (5.032) while hitting 75 percent of the greens at challenging TPC San Antonio.
Harman, in should be noted, got attention last season for using a TaylorMade Spider OS CB with a massive head nearly as big as the diminutive golfer’s own dome. “I’ve always liked the larger high-MOI, face-balanced putters for some reason,” Harman told Golf.com last June. “Haven’t changed much in the past several years and don’t see that changing anytime soon. It does the job.”
Harman, however, has been dissatisfied with his results in 2025, with no top-10 finishes in nine starts. His best result is a T-17 in the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines. His last start before this week was the Players Championship, where Harman missed the cut by shooting 73-77.
“It’s been a slow start, a little uncharacteristic,” he said. “I've been pretty frustrated; I haven't really been able to put my finger on what it is that's kind of holding me back. So nice to take a couple weeks off and regroup and at least have a couple nice days so far.”
Harman, standing at 12 under and most closely followed by another former Georgia Bulldog, Keith Mitchell (72), is trying to notch his fourth win overall and first since the Open Championship. Heading to the 18th hole on Friday, Harman had a five-shot lead but sliced his drive into the trees, had to punch out and eventually missed a 12-foot putt for par.
He couldn't make 'em all.