Brian Harman handled the wind and the chill Sunday with a pair of key birdies on the back nine Sunday in the Valero Texas Open, closing with a 3-over 75 for a three-shot victory, his first title since the 2023 British Open.

Harman began the final round with a three-shot lead and it soon became a tight battle with Andrew Novak, who was going for his first PGA Tour victory and a spot in the Masters.

Harman never lost the lead, though it dropped to one shot with a bogey on No. 6 and a double bogey on the ninth hole when he had to take a penalty drop after a pulled tee shot and still could only advance it to the fairway.

But he holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole to give him some breathing room, and he got up-and-down from a bunker on the par-5 14th and his lead was back to three shots.

He followed that with a pair of bogeys, but left the mistakes at the end to Novak.

“Just so proud of how I handled these conditions,” Harman said. “This golf course gave me all I wanted today and happy to come out on top.”

Novak, two shots behind with two to play, bogeyed the 17th with a bad chip and the par-5 18th with a bad drive. He shot 76 and fell into a tie for third with Maverick McNealy (72).

Ryan Gerard made his only bogey on the final hole for a 69 to finish runner-up. It was one of only seven rounds under par at the TPC San Antonio.

Scheffler gets Masters practice >> Scottie Scheffler took advantage of ideal, warm conditions on Sunday at the Masters, playing a practice round at Augusta National with his mother, Diane, ahead of some predicted bad weather.

The tournament announced Sunday evening that patron gates would not open as scheduled today because of anticipated heavy rain and thunderstorms. Forecasts called for rainfall of 1 inch or more, and the club cited safety concerns in barring spectators from the course.

That turned Sunday, with temperatures in the low 80s and a southwesterly breeze, into a good day for players who arrived early to get some work in ahead of the year’s first major championship. The course was in immaculate condition, although it lost some trees in September when the region was hit by deadly Hurricane Helene.

Past champions are encouraged to bring guests out for a round, and Augusta members played the course in between groups of tournament competitors. Scheffler, the defending champion and the world’s top-ranked player, brought his mom as he seeks to join Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus as the only back-to-back winners at the Masters.

Motorsports

Hamlin wins with extra laps >> Denny Hamlin took the lead coming out of the pits before a final overtime finish and held off William Byron to win the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.

It was the 56th career win for Hamlin, who took first for a second straight week after his success at Martinsville and for the fifth time overall at Darlington, the most of any current driver.

“I can still do it, I can do it at a high level and look forward to winning a lot of races this year,” he said.

Hamlin chose the outside lane for a final restart and shot out to the lead and pulled away from series points leader Byron and NASCAR wins leader Christopher Bell.

Hamlin looked like he’d have a strong finish, but not a winning one as Ryan Blaney passed Tyler Reddick for the lead with three laps left. But moments later, Kyle Larson spun out, forcing a caution and extra laps.

It was then time for Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing pit crew to shine as it got him out quickly and in the lead.

Byron, who led the first 243 laps, was second with Hamlin’s JGR teammate Bell in third.

“There are two people I really love right now, my pit crew and Kyle Larson,” Hamlin said to a round of boos from those in the stands.

NHL

Senators 4, Blue Jackets 0 >> Linus Ullmark made 30 saves for Ottawa’s second straight shutout and the Senators moved to the brink of their first playoff appearance since 2017, beating Columbus for their third straight victory.

With five games left, Ottawa holds the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference — seven points ahead of Montreal. The Canadiens were at Nashville on Sunday night.

Red Wings 2, Panthers 1 >> Alex DeBrincat and J.T. Compher scored in the second period and Cam Talbot finished with 32 saves to help the Detroit Red Wings keep their fading playoff hopes alive with a win over the Florida Panthers.

The Panthers put their goaltender on the bench to add an extra skater and Anton Lundell scored with 39.9 seconds to pull them within a goal.

Detroit has just six games remaining in the regular season to rally into a wild card to end a nine-year postseason drought.

Sabres 6, Bruins 3 >> Tage Thompson had a hat trick, Jason Zucker scored the go-ahead goal early in the the third period and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins for their fourth straight victory.

Thompson extended his scoring streak to four games with his first goal in the second period after the Bruins took an early 2-0 lead. Thompson scored again on a breakaway early in the third period, and got his 43rd goal of the season into the empty net in the final minute.

Blackhawks 3, Penguins 1 >> Ilya Mikheyev scored twice, Frank Nazar added a goal and Spencer Knight stopped 28 shots as the Chicago Blackhawks snapped a five-game skid with a win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Alex Nedeljkovic made 28 saves for the Penguins, who have lost five of their last seven games.