Séamus Power and Pádraig Harrington have both missed the cut at the Valero Texas Open while 2023 Open champion Brian Harman has opened up a four-stroke lead at the halfway point.
Rounds of 72 and 73 respectively left both Irishmen straddling the provisional cutline at the end of day one with 64 ahead of Power who sat on level-par and 91 ahead of Harrington on +1, so both men knew they’d have to improve by several shots on day two to see weekend action.
Power got off to the ideal start by birdieing the first, but he followed that with a bogey and then made a double on six after a big pull off the tee. He responded by birdieing the seventh, but turning at +1 for round and tournament, needed a big back nine. Sadly, it didn’t materialise and three bogeys on the way home saw him limp out of the tournament, his last-chance-saloon shot at an Augusta National invitation up in smoke.
Harrington, also needing to win to earn his place in the Masters, made the turn at +3 for the week after two bogeys on the opening nine. He improved to play the back nine in level-par, mixing bogeys at 11 and 17 with a pair of birdies on 15 and 16, finishing one shot ahead of Power on +3 but five strokes too many.
There were no such problems for Brian Harman, however, who shot matching 66s in rounds one and two to push his way to -12 and open up a four-shot lead over Keith Mitchell. And that lead could have been even more were it not for a 36th-hole bogey for the diminutive American.
Still, it’s the biggest halfway lead he’s occupied since Hoylake.
“Just know that I’ve done it before and that it is possible,” Harman said of his experience with a big lead. “You get on big leads sometimes — and I’m sure Keith is going to make a few birdies coming in. Look, man, it’s just left foot, right foot and just take your time getting finished.”
Mitchell, needing a victory to get into the Masters, had an up-and-down day that added up to a level-par 72.
“I’m still in there,” Mitchell said. “I wish I was closer to Brian than I am, but glad to make par on 9 so I could stay in the last group. … Thankfully, I played great yesterday and have two more rounds.”
Ryo Hisatsune and Matt Wallace each shot 67 to share third with Sam Ryder on -7.
Jordan Spieth was trying to stay in range of the leaders until a series of late slips that contributed to bogeys on each of his closing holes and a one-over 73 to lie T22 on -4.
Rickie Fowler kept his slim Masters hopes alive — he also needs to win to get in — with a 65, though he is eight shots back and had to battle to make the cut after a +3 opener.
Seeing weekend action was also the goal for Tony Finau, who pulled it off in spectacular fashion. Finau was one shot below the cut line when he made a hole-in-one on the 16th, and then finished with two easy pars to post a 72 and make it with one shot to spare.
WHEN HE NEEDED IT MOST‼️
Tony Finau makes an ACE on the 16th to get inside the projected cutline. pic.twitter.com/aImuCmaIf7
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 4, 2025
“I needed something to go my way,” Finau said. “I was leaking oil kind of coming in and really shooting myself in the foot on a chance to play the weekend. So it was a huge shot at the right moment.”
Among those missing the cut were Ludvig Aberg, at No. 5 the highest-ranked player in the field, and defending champion Akshay Bhatia.
Leave a comment