The low scores from Thursday and Friday were nowhere to be found on Saturday at the 2025 Texas Open, as winds shifted and picked up at TPC San Antonio, posing a difficult challenge to the field. Brian Harman, who led by four heading into the round, stumbled early Saturday, giving up two shots in the first four holes.
Despite dropping to 10 under for much of the afternoon, he never had any competition at the top of the leaderboard as the rest of the field struggled to mount a significant charge.
The 2023 Open champion steadied himself on the back nine with birdies on 14 and 17, bringing him back to even for the day and 12 under for the tournament. Harman’s Saturday 72 gave him a three-shot lead heading into the final round, with Andrew Novak in second at 9 under after a sensational back nine that included five birdies.
Tom Hoge is just behind Novak at 8 under; he shot the best round of the day, a 4-under 68, to move up 19 spots to third.
An under-par round on Saturday gave golfers a great opportunity to climb the leaderboard, but the top names in the field struggled to capitalize. Patrick Cantlay started the day tied for sixth at 6 under but dropped to T10 with a 2-over 74. Jordan Spieth also improved his tournament score to 3 under with a 73 at TPC San Antonio, hitting only seven greens in regulation.
The leader
1. Brian Harman (-12): Harman getting back to even on his day was remarkable given the way he started. Like Spieth, he could only find seven greens in regulation in his round, and he had to lean on his incredible short game to stay in the lead. Harman got up-and-down nine times in 11 scrambling situations, and now, he will get to sleep on the lead for the second-straight night.
Other contenders
2. Andrew Novak (-9)
3. Tom Hoge (-8)
4. Keith Mitchell (-7)
Novak’s incredible finish to his round included the luckiest shot of the day, when he banked his tee shot on the 16th off the grandstands behind the green and had the ball bounce to within a few feet of the pin.
You do not often see a kick-in birdie after hearing an extremely loud “Fore!” call off the tee on a par 3, but Novak got a lucky bounce off the stands with one of his worst swings of the day.
Hoge not only had the best round of the day with a 68, but he was the only player in the field to go bogey-free on Saturday. That was an incredible feat given the conditions and the small greens at TPC San Antonio, and he is now in contention heading into Sunday.
Mitchell, meanwhile, is once again near the top of the leaderboard but appears to be running out of gas as the week progresses. He is been dominant on Thursdays for about a month, but he can not carry that momentum into the weekend.
He was not at his best on Saturday, but he managed to shoot 73 and stay within striking distance of Harman. To have a chance of winning on Sunday, he must figure out how to summon those Thursday feelings.
Just aim for the fat guy
Novak provided the most entertaining moments of Saturday’s third round, as NBC captured a funny moment on the par-5 14th when they were determining where their target point was in the wind.
Novak, looking for a good place to start his second shot, noticed the “kinda fat guy” behind the green. He came up just short of the green but in the fairway and made a birdie putt, so it is safe to say that aiming for the fat guy paid off.
2025 Texas Open updated odds, picks
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
- Brian Harman (-165)
- Andrew Novak (4-1)
- Tom Hoge (9-1)
- Keith Mitchell (14-1)
It is supposed to be cooler on Sunday, but the wind will not be as strong, so someone may be able to post a real score. Still, a three-shot lead is difficult to overcome, and you must be confident that someone will shoot in the mid-60s to bet on them at this point.
Mitchell is the only one at the top with a 64 on his Thursday card, but his weekend struggles make it difficult to support him. Hoge would be my pick because he is shot solid 68s on consecutive days, but I do not expect anyone to catch Harman.
If Corey Conners had not been ejected on his last two holes (bogey-double), he would have been my pick, but I do not see anyone coming in at 4 under to take the lead.