Harold Varner III

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Harold Varner III
HaroldVarneriiigolfer.jpg
Personal information
NicknameHV3
Born (1990-08-15) August 15, 1990 (age 31)
Akron, Ohio
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceCharlotte, North Carolina
Career
CollegeEast Carolina University
Turned professional2012
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
European Tour
Former tour(s)Web.com Tour
Professional wins2
Highest ranking45 (February 6, 2022)[1]
(as of February 6, 2022)
Number of wins by tour
European Tour1
Asian Tour1
PGA Tour of Australasia1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipT29: 2020
U.S. OpenCUT: 2013, 2018
The Open ChampionshipT66: 2016

Harold Varner III (born August 15, 1990) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Despite his smaller stature, Varner is one of the longer drivers on tour. Varner is one of just a handful of African-American PGA Tour golfers. He won the Australian PGA Championship in December 2016.

Amateur career[]

Varner was born in Akron, Ohio, but raised in Gastonia, North Carolina where he played golf at Forestview High School. He played his collegiate golf at East Carolina University and was the first player in school history to be named Conference USA player of the year.[2] He also competed in the 2010 U.S. Amateur at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington.

Professional career[]

Varner turned professional in 2012, missing the cut at the Chiquita Classic. Prior to playing on the Web.com Tour, he played on the eGolf Tour and Florida Tour. He qualified for the 2013 U.S. Open, but missed the cut.

Varner started playing on the Web.com Tour in 2014, making 13 cuts in 21 tournaments with two top-10 finishes. His best finish was T-2 at the Rex Hospital Open. He finished 30th on the money list in his first full season. He also played in two PGA Tour events, the Northern Trust Open (T70) and Wells Fargo Championship (missed cut).

In 2015, he had five top-25 finishes and a runner-up finish at the Panama Claro Championship. He finished 25th on the Web.com Tour regular season money list, the last guaranteed spot, to earn a PGA Tour card for the 2015–16 season. Varner is the first African American golfer to advance to the PGA Tour via the Web.com Tour.

In December 2016, Varner earned his first professional golf victory by winning the Australian PGA Championship, a tournament co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia and the European Tour.[3] He is only the second American to win the Australian PGA Championship and the first since Hale Irwin won it in 1978.[4] He also became the third black man to win on the European Tour after Vincent Tshabalala of South Africa and Tiger Woods.

In May 2019, Varner was tied for second heading into the final round of the PGA Championship on Bethpage Black outside of New York City. He played in the final group with eventual champion Brooks Koepka but shot 81 in windy conditions to finish tied for 36.

In April 2021, Varner recorded his best finish to date on the PGA Tour. A tied-second place at the RBC Heritage; four shots behind Stewart Cink.[5]

In February 2022, Varner won the PIF Saudi International on the Asian Tour. He eagled the final hole with a 120 foot putt to beat Bubba Watson by one shot.[6]

Professional wins (2)[]

European Tour wins (1)[]

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 Dec 4, 2016
(2017 season) 		Australian PGA Championship1 −19 (65-72-67-65=269) 2 strokes Australia Andrew Dodt

1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2015 Australian PGA Championship South Africa Dylan Frittelli, Australia Nathan Holman Holman won with par on first extra hole

Asian Tour wins (1)[]

Legend
Saudi Internationals (1)
Other Asian Tour (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 Feb 6, 2022 PIF Saudi International −13 (64-66-68-69=267) 1 stroke United States Bubba Watson

Results in major championships[]

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT CUT
The Open Championship T66
PGA Championship CUT
Tournament 2019 2020 2021
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship T36 T29 T49
U.S. Open
The Open Championship NT CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Results in The Players Championship[]

Tournament 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
The Players Championship T57 T35 T7 CUT C T61
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships[]

Tournament 2017
Championship
Match Play
Invitational T50
Champions
  Did not play

"T" = Tied

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Week 6 2022 Ending 6 Feb 2022" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  2. ^ "Harold Varner Bio". ECU Pirates. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  3. ^ "American Harold Varner III wins Australian PGA Championship". ESPN. Australian Associated Press. December 4, 2016.
  4. ^ "Past Champions". Australian PGA Championship. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  5. ^ "Gastonia Native, Forestview product Harold Varner III posts best finish on PGA Tour". Gaston Gazette. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  6. ^ "Saudi International: Harold Varner III eagles final hole to snatch victory over Bubba Watson". Sky Sports. February 6, 2022.

External links[]

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