Harold Varner III, doesn’t do anything halfway and doesn’t take anything for granted. As a skilled professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour, he realizes the momentous glory of his achievement. Despite his smaller stature, Varner is one of the longest drivers of the golf ball on tour and with Tiger Woods out of the field, on the mend—again—Varner is getting a taste of what it’s like to be among a handful of African American professional golfers, and the only active one on the Tour.
At the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol GC (July 29-31) Varner missed the cut after day two: 72-72 — 144. In his first year on tour, he already has a top-5 finish and has 2 consecutive top-10s. This season he has earned $1,265,844. Yet ongoing challenges facing the PGA Tour rookie include making the cut at tournaments that are pure, fierce competition. Each event tests his skills, taxes his mentality and, undoubtedly, his self-confidence. But the 25-year-old Varner—whose birthday falls on Aug 15— has managed to pull through and keep his fans enthralled, watching his every move.
Varner has missed the cut at the Shell Houston Open “by a million,” in player-jargon—shooting eight shots on the leader board. It certainly disappointed him to have shot seven over par for two days.
“I’m just not hitting the ball well, but I know it’s there. I’m good at this game. I know it’s in there, and I’ll find it,” he was said to have shared in an interview.
Growing up outside of Charlotte, NC, he played on the Gastonia Municipal Golf Course (renamed Catawba Creek) at only $100 bucks annually. Little did he realize that only a few decades later he would be the only active African American on the Tour. Along with this success comes the fact that Varner is referred to by many Blacks as “our brother” whose out there by himself. His accomplishments are admired; his heritage undeniable.
The East Carolina graduate with a marketing degree wants his performance on the golf course to be about skill, rather than race. Spending two years on the Web.com Tour, there he cut his teeth on regular formal competitions. In 2004, he finished 30th on the money list, capturing the 25th—and last—regular-season big-tour spot last August. The placement surprised many of his fans and Varner prepared to tackle the big time.
His rookie season tested him further. He finished in a fourth-place tie after three rounds of the Frys.com Open. Yet, at the final round, he dropped down to a whopping 79 to tie for 48th. Amazingly, his strong playing skills pulled him back up to a finish of T-5 at Mayakoba and T-13 in Honolulu.
He garnered 66th on the FedExCup points following a downward spiral that came to a head in Houston, where he made another wad of money at Hilton Head, followed by a T-9 in San Antonio and a T-8 outside New Orleans. This is what pushed him over the top in May. Varner has more right now than thousands of golfers who have a dream to be on the PGA Tour; and he won’t give up, because, what he has right now is just not enough for him. His desire to succeed on the Tour is as big as his wide, contagious smile.
