“My dad sat me down when I was 14, and he told me, ‘Look, if you want to be a professional athlete, it’s not going to be baseball cause you are a tiny little dude, you are not going to make it playing baseball.” The wise words from Brian Harman‘s father, his biggest support pillar, have changed the life of the golfer who preferred to be a baseball player. The result of the decision is evident with the exceptional performance of the American professional. After turning professional in 2010, Harma has been turning heads with his performance. However, there’s still a missing piece in the puzzle for him.
The 38-year-old has seven professional wins under his name. He won four at the PGA Tour, including the Open Championship 2023 and the Valero Texas Open in 2025. With his recent victory, he added $1.71 million to his bank, but that wasn’t enough to be on par with his expectations. Before his performance, the golfer shared about his long time break after the Players Championship to regain his dipping form in 2025.
However, with the Valero Texas Open victory by three strokes, it seems like an ideal way to start the Masters campaign. There are still concerns that haunt him. During the post-match press conference, the moderator asked him about his performance. Surprisingly, the golfer had something unexpected to share.
Answering for which, he said, “Really putted well, which is something that’s been missing a little bit the last year or so, just haven’t been making like those mid-range putts.” Looking at the PGA Tour stats, Harman’s struggle with putts is evident.
For putting, he is on 127th rank with his putting an average of 1.76. Even for strokes gained in putting, he is in 127th place with -0.170. Even though the slight improvement in it has helped the golfer clinching victory. As earlier, he missed the cut at the Players Championship, and now, with the victory, the golfer has been able to get back to his form.
At least, that is what the golf community believes. However, one flaw remains a worry.
He shared about it, saying, “There’s still some stuff that — I haven’t been driving it quite as well as I’d like to when you’re thinking about trying to win majors and stuff like that, but super pleased with the way I played this week.”
Speaking with his experience of winning a major, the golfer has realized his flaw in driving. Even that is evident with his stats, be it his driving distance average, which is 290.7 yards, or strokes gained off the tee. He placed way far from the top 100 golfers. Even to note, the golfer struggled the most at Par 4 or Par 5 holes out of the 9 bogeys at the Valero Texas Open. He carded three bogeys in par 3, while the rest were in the long distance holes.
However, the ongoing struggle hasn’t been a worry. As earlier, his performance was the way he wanted.
A look back to the ideal year of Brian Harman
The 38-year-old who is currently struggling with his driving and putting was once among the best on the course. Take, for example, his 2023 performance, where the golfer bagged his first major victory. The credit for it goes to his exceptional performance, which he maintained throughout the year. In 2023, he was placed in the 43rd position with his stroke-gained total of 0.680.
Adding to his strong performance, Harman’s driving was exceptional, boasting 66.82% accuracy and 0.254 strokes gained off the tee, earning him 48th place. Similar was the case with his putting, as he averaged out the season for 1.743 with 28.43 putts per round.
Although Brian Harman is struggling with the 2025 schedule, his comeback from past challenges should not be too difficult. The attempt at getting back has already resulted in the first victory of the season. But can he continue the dominant form and get back his A-game for the Masters?
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The post Despite Snagging Millions From the PGA Tour, Brian Harman Reveals ‘Stuff’ Sabotaging His Majors Dream appeared first on EssentiallySports.
