Brian Harman wins Wells Fargo Championship

Brian Harman.

Brian Harman drained a 28-foot putt on the final hole to win the Wells Fargo Championship by a shot over World No.1 Dustin Johnson and Pat Perez. 

Harman came from behind with a four-under-par final round of 68 at Eagle Point Golf Club to deny Dustin Johnson a chance to gain his fourth straight win on the PGA Tour.

DJ set the early clubhouse lead at nine-under-par and was quickly followed in by Perez, while Harman birdied the 17th to match the leaders with one to play. 

With 270 yards to go Harman decided to go for it, but ended up leaking it out left by the stands and needed to take a free-drop.

It appeared unlikely the 30-year-old would birdie after he failed to get his chip close, but the World No. 93 holed the lengthy downhill double-breaker to achieve his second PGA Tour win and first since 2014. 

“It’s surreal,” Harman said. “I knew it was going to be tought to bridie those last couple of hole but I just stuck to my game plan.”

“It’s a lot of emotion. I thought I had a good chance at Harbour Town a couple of weeks ago, and I really wanted that one. I’ve been working really hard, this feels really good.” 

Jon Rahm was in the group behind and had at one stage held the lead, but a costly bogey on the 15th pushed him back to eight-under.

Standing in the 18th fairway and seeing Harman’s birdie, Rahm knew he needed an eagle to force a play-off, but a huge shot over the back of the green meant the Spaniard was left to settle for par and solo fourth place. 

He said: “I’ve been hitting the shots and making the swings but I just haven’t been fortunate enough to hit it close, which is what you’ve got to do to win it – its just golf”

What the 22-year-old can take forward to the Players Championship next week is yet another impressive top-5 performance on the PGA Tour – and the Spaniard is confident his game is ready for next week.

“It’s certainly a ball-strikers course, and this week I feel like i’ve been pretty solid. Being a ball strikers course, I feel pretty confident.”

It was an encouraging return for Dustin Johnson, who fell just short of achieving four straight wins in a row – which would have been all the more impressive given he hasn’t played a competitive tournament since he was forced to withdraw from the Masters.  

There was no doubt there were many that remained cautiously unsure he would be able to continue the form he had prior to his back injury, but they stand firmly corrected. With an impressive final-round five-under 67, Dustin Johnson proved he is back, and a formidable force once more. 

Meanwhile, it was a disappointing day for final pairing of Alex Noren and Patrick Reed who both carded over-par rounds which left both men out of the top 10.