With a dramatic putt on the 18th green, Savannah, Georgia native Brian Harman won the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship, played at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington.
Harman birdied the 71st and 72nd holes to claim his second career PGA Tour win in his 172nd career PGA Tour start at the age of 30 years, 3 months, 18 days. Harman birdied the final two holes to win by a stroke at 10-under 278, over Dustin Johnson and Pat Perez.
After the win, Harman praised the course and the tournament as a “bomber’s paradise.”
“If you can carry it, you can catch the downslope. I knew if I could hit a bunch of greens and put it well, I’d still have a chance,” Harman said. “We could play here tomorrow. It was firm and fast. It’s a championship golf course.”
Harman, who hit 13 of 14 fairways in regulation in the final round, rolled in a 28’ 4” putt for birdie at the par-5 home hole to break out of a tie at 9-under-par. With the win, Harman collects 500 FedExCup points and moves from No. 32 to No. 9 in the standings.
With the win, Harman earns a two-year exemption to the PGA TOUR, extending his fully-exempt status through the 2018-19 PGA Tour season.
Johnson, the world’s No.1 player, posted back-to-back, 5-under 67s in rounds three and four to finish tied for second with Pat Perez at 9-under 279. Johnson sank a 15-foot putt for birdie on the 72nd hole to take the clubhouse lead. At the time, co-leader Jon Rahm was on the 15th hole.
Perez, who has played the Wells Fargo Championship 13 times, began the final round three strokes back at 5-under 211 posted a 4-under 68 to finish in the second-place tie with Johnson.
Harman becomes the 10th player in the 15-year history of the Wells Fargo Championship to come from behind in the final round to win.
“Winning number two is really sweet,” Harman said of his second career victory. “With number one, you can always wonder if you’ll win another, but number two feels really good.”
Harman will make his sixth start in this week’s Players Championship, where his one top-10 finish, a tie for eighth, came in 2015.
