August 14, 2020 | BY AAGD STAFF
Although the first round of the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C. was suspended due to inclement weather in the area, with nearly three dozen players still on the golf course. Those unfinished players resumed their first round on today, starting at 7:30 a.m. ET. The rest of the field began their second round as scheduled at 7 a.m. ET.
Pro Harold Varner III showcased a phenomenal performance on Thursday, eight under par, as the North Carolina resident headed to hole 16. Varner had no idea that he was a few birdies away from golf’s magic number.
Varner said he was so engrossed in the round that he didn’t know he had to birdie the last three holes at par-70 Sedgefield Country Club to break 60.
“Dang, I wish I would have,” he said afterward. “I didn’t think about it at all. Just trying to birdie every hole. You can go get it out here, obviously, with the scores, so I just knew that, you know, the gas pedal is on the right,” he told GolfChannel.
Varner made par on each of the last three holes to shoot 62, the best score among the early starters.
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Throughout its history the Wyndham Championship, originally the “Greater Greensboro Open” the winner has had to shoot a score in the high teens or low 20s under par for four rounds, and the first-round leaders are already on this path.
Three players shot rounds of 8-under-par 62 on Thursday: Harold Varner III, Tom Hoge and Roger Sloan. Of the three, only Varner III was bogey-free, and all three players are seeking their maiden PGA Tour victory.
On Thursday, there are currently 87 players under par in the 155-man field.
Wyndham Championship: Full-field scores
The Wyndham is always a special week for Varner, who grew up in Gastonia, North Carolina, roughly two hours from Greensboro, even though his hometown fans aren’t allowed on-site this week as part of the Tour’s COVID-19 protocols.
Varner said he’s never shot 59 before – never even had an opportunity on the last while playing with friends – but said a 62 Thursday “will do.”
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The strong start will set up yet another opportunity for Varner to earn his first PGA Tour victory in what is his 136th career start. When asked if it’s been “hard” to stay positive despite being so close so often, including at the Tour’s restart event at Colonial, Varner said: “It’s not hard at all. Life’s really hard. What people are going through right now, yeah, this is easy. I don’t care if I don’t ever win. I want to win, but it is what it is.”
