Professional golfer Brian Harman this week recounted a devastating incident that took place last month in which his 6-year-old son Walter almost drowned, leaving a friend in a coma.
Harman said the tragic day occurred during a family vacation where his wife Kelly Van Slyke and their three children were in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The couple are also parents to 8-year-old daughter Cooper and Jack, 2.
Harman himself was not in Florida for the trip as he was competing in an Asian Tour event in China.
Walter was bodyboarding on October 13 when he was pulled into a strong current. Family friend Cathy Dowdy, of Brunswick, Georgia, tried to save Walter by entering the ocean, but she was unable to reach him as she struggled against the strong current.
Another man named Crane Cantrell saw the nightmare incident unfold and went to help, managing to save the Harmans’ middle child.
However, Dowdy was seriously injured. A lifeguard pulled Dowdy from the water and performed CPR until first responders arrived, according to the St. Johns Citizen. But she has been in a coma ever since.
Golfer Brian Harman described last month’s tragic incident in which his son almost drowned
Harman is pictured with son Walter (left) and daughter Cooper (right) at the 2024 Masters
Following the incident, a GoFundMe page was set up for Cathy Dowdy (right).
“Obviously our world was turned upside down here,” Harmon said Wednesday during a news conference at the RSM Classic in Georgia.
“I don’t really know what I wanted to say other than I wanted to use whatever platform I could to bring awareness to what Cathy did, what Crane did. They ignored (themselves), went into the water, saved my son and how do you thank such people? I don’t know any other way than to just say what you think.
“I think courage and doing something like that for people who don’t have your blood is just the greatest thing you can do in this life.”
Dowdy has now been transferred to a hospital in Savannah, Georgia and has been in a coma for six weeks.
A GoFundMe was created to help with Dowdy’s medical expenses. More than $80,000 was raised Wednesday evening.
“Cathy is still in a lot of pain,” Harman continued. “She’s in Savannah and we’re thinking of her.”
Harman, who won the Open Championship last year, and his wife Kelly married in December 2014.
The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Cooper Marie, in 2016.
They expanded their brood with son Walter in 2019 and their third child, Jack in September 2022.