PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — PGA champion golfer Brian Harman on Tuesday publicly thanked a family friend who he said remains hospitalized in a coma after saving his 6-year-old son from drowning last month in Florida.
Harman, speaking to media ahead of this weekend’s RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Georgia, was competing in a tournament in China on Oct. 13 while his wife, kids and family friend Cathy Dowdy took a vacation to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. He said his son was boogie boarding in the ocean with a friend when he “got ripped out to sea by just a rip current.”
“We get them here, it’s not something that’s abnormal, but this was an abnormally bad one,” Harman said, according to the PGA Tour. “Cathy Dowdy, a family friend – really, we call them family friends but they’re family – she went in the water. She went in the water after my son. He’s 6. Couldn’t get to him. Another gentleman coming down the beach, Crane Cantrell, jumped in. He makes it out fine; Cathy (got) injured really badly … She’s been in a coma for going on six weeks now and so obviously our world down here was kind of turned on its head.”
A lifeguard pulled Dowdy from the water and administered life-saving procedures before she was transported to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Dowdy, of Brunswick, Georgia, remains hospitalized in critical condition, according to the St. John’s Citizen.
A GoFundMe was organized on Dowdy’s behalf to help cover the expenses for hotel rooms, long-term lodging, food and gas as she recovers, according to the page. The GoFundMe has raised more than $88,000, well surpassing its $20,000 goal, as of Friday morning.
Cathy’s husband, Mike, shared an update on her health on Nov. 18, saying it’s “1 step forward and 2 steps back.”
“She is still unconscious and having some neuro storms. This causes a roller coaster ride with blood pressure and breathing rate,” Mike Dowdy wrote in an update on Cathy’s GoFundMe page. “Lately there hasn’t been as many but today was a MONDAY. We need her on an even keel to try and wean her from the vent. Please pray for calmer days ahead.”
Harman also expressed gratitude for both Dowdy and Crane while asking for their continued prayers.
“I wanted to use whatever platform I have to bring awareness to what Cathy did, what Crane did,” Harman said. “They disregarded their selves, 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, 37, is a three-time PGA champion since making his PGA Tour debut in 2012. His most recent victory came at the Open Championship in 2023, clinching the first major title of his PGA career. He is currently the No. 24-ranked golfer in the world.