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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
PGA Tour golfer Brian Harman asked for prayers for a woman who saved his 6-year-old son from drowning at a beach in Florida last month.
During a news conference at the RSM Classic at Saint Simons Island, Georgia, on Tuesday, Harman said his wife and children were vacationing at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, when the incident occurred.
While bodyboarding, Harman’s son was pulled into the water by a rip current on Oct. 13. A family friend, Cathy Dowdy, attempted to save the boy but couldn’t reach him. Another man walking down the beach, Crane Cantrell, reached Harman’s son and pulled him to safety.
“I wanted to use whatever platform I have to bring awareness to what Cathy did, what Crane did,” Harman said. “They disregarded themselves, went into the water, saved my son, and how do you thank people like that? I don’t know other than to just say what you think.
“I think that bravery and doing something like that for people who aren’t your blood is just the most beautiful thing you can do in this life.”
Harman, the 2023 Open Championship winner, was competing in the Asian Tour’s SJM Macao Open in China when the incident happened.
Dowdy, from Brunswick, Georgia, has been hospitalized while in a coma for six weeks, according to Harman. She was recently transferred to a hospital in Savannah, Georgia.
According to the St. Johns Citizen in Florida, a lifeguard pulled Dowdy out of the water and administered CPR until first responders arrived on the scene.
“Cathy’s still hurt real bad,” Harman said. “She’s up in Savannah and we’re thinking about her. The outpouring of support we’ve gotten from Glynn County and Saint Simons community is another one of the most touching things I’ve ever experienced.”