HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Just behind the 18th green, in the tunnel that feeds players to the scoring area at Harbour Town, a gaggle of tournament staffers prepared to crown its champion.

One held the “Sir William Innes” trophy, given annually to the winner of the RBC Heritage. Another held the plaid jacket that the winner would hopefully slip on in moments.

Then they heard the groan. Andrew Novak had done everything possible to receive both items and claim his maiden PGA TOUR title. All that was left was an 8-foot birdie putt to win and change his life. He missed.

As Novak walked through the tunnel, the staffers holding the trophy and jacket hid behind their co-workers, shielding Novak from seeing what was nearly his. It wasn’t over then. Novak’s par was still enough to make a playoff with Justin Thomas. But Novak wouldn’t come that close. He hit a poor approach into the 18th in the playoff and left his lengthy birdie putt short. He didn’t hit another putt. Thomas holed his birdie to end it.

“I'm not as frustrated as I thought I would be,” Novak said afterward.

If emotions were bubbling up, he did fantastically to suppress them.

“I feel like I did a lot of good things," he added. "I'm pretty proud of putting myself in that position when I really felt like I wasn't swinging it that great this week, the fact that I was able to scrap out almost a win with not really swinging my best.”

Novak took more good than bad from the result, despite how painstakingly close he was to the greatest golfing achievement of his life. He saw it as progress.

The result is Novak’s third top-three finish of the season and the closest he’s been to winning. He played in the final grouping at the Farmers Insurance Open and Valero Texas Open, falling short both times. He didn’t do enough to earn those tournaments, he felt. This one, he did.

“Justin just went out and won it. There's nothing you can really do about it,” Novak said.

The consolation prize for Novak, who had largely floated on the periphery of the PGA TOUR until this year, is considerable. He secured spots in the PGA Championship (based on earnings) and the U.S. Open (based on world ranking), per PGA TOUR Communications. He also set himself up to play in the remaining three Signature Events. While those exemptions don’t come automatically because of his runner-up, he moved to 15th in the FedExCup and fourth on the current Aon Next 10 standings.

It's the continuation of a steady career progression for Novak, who first earned his TOUR card via the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour and has improved his season-ending FedExCup position each year. Novak grew up in South Carolina and attended the RBC Heritage often as a kid, but this marked his first TOUR start at Harbour Town (qualifying via the extended Aon Next 10, ranking No. 12 into the week, a new stipulation for 2025 to ensure 72-player fields in Signature Events). Novak took the baton and ran with it, opening in rounds of 68-65-66 at Harbour Town to storm into a tie for second into Sunday, one back of 54-hole leader Si Woo Kim.

With a chip-in birdie from just short of the par-4 sixth green, Novak held the lead at his home event. He turned in 2-under 34 and played a clean back nine with eight pars and a 17-foot birdie at the par-4 16th that allowed him to keep pace with Thomas, who drained a 24-foot birdie at the par-5 15th to reach 17-under. Novak made a good par at the tricky par-3 17th, then he striped one of the shots of his life on the 72nd hole, from 146 yards to 8 feet, to earn a short-range birdie attempt for his first PGA TOUR title in front of family, friends and local supporters who called out everything from Novak’s middle school to high school to college dorm room throughout the weekend. The tournament team was prepared for the coronation accordingly.

Novak couldn’t convert and was bested by a worthy birdie from a worthy champion in Thomas – one whom he hopes to join on the U.S. Ryder Cup Team at Bethpage Black later this year. It’s a lofty goal for a player who is yet to win on TOUR, and Novak knows he likely needs to win for that goal to become reality. But after his home-state performance this weekend that bordered on a dream, why not?

“This is a tournament I've been wanting to get into for years. I knew I was going to have a lot of support this week just with it being a home event, and it definitely surpassed my expectations,” Novak said afterward. “The fans were awesome. They were showing so much love. It was a lot of fun playing with that atmosphere this week.

“I have big goals for the year,” he continued. “Obviously this is going to look good for (U.S. Ryder Cup Team) Captain Keegan (Bradley), and I've got a lot more to do as far as that, but I'm putting my name up there, and next step is just to win.”