Harold Varner III

Harold Varner III
Personal information
Full nameHarold William Varner III
NicknameHV3
Born (1990-08-15) August 15, 1990 (age 34)
Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceCharlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Career
CollegeEast Carolina University
Turned professional2012
Current tour(s)Asian Tour
LIV Golf
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
European Tour
Web.com Tour
eGolf Professional Tour
Professional wins3
Highest ranking35 (June 12, 2022)[1]
(as of November 24, 2024)
Number of wins by tour
European Tour1
Asian Tour1
PGA Tour of Australasia1
LIV Golf1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT23: 2022
PGA ChampionshipT29: 2020, 2023
U.S. OpenCUT: 2013, 2018, 2022
The Open ChampionshipT28: 2022

Harold William Varner III (born August 15, 1990) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and currently plays in the LIV Golf League. He won the Australian PGA Championship in December 2016 and the PIF Saudi International in February 2022.

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 Professional 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 to finish tied for 36th.

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 92-foot putt to beat Bubba Watson by one shot.[6]

In April 2022, Varner held his first solo 54-hole PGA Tour lead at the RBC Heritage. He finished tied for third, one shot behind winner Jordan Spieth. He moved to a career high 36th in the world rankings.[7] In May 2022 at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Varner was tied for the lead after the 11th hole in the final round. He finished the round 9 shots back of the eventual winner after closing at +10 over the final seven holes.[8] In August 2022, it was announced that Varner had joined LIV Golf.[9]

Personal life

In December 2023, Varner was arrested for driving while impaired. He registered a .16 BAC during a breathalyzer test, twice the legal driving limit.[10]

Professional wins (3)

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
Flagship events (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

LIV Golf League wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 May 28, 2023 LIV Golf Washington, D.C.1 −12 (64-72-68=204) 1 stroke South Africa Branden Grace

1Co-sanctioned by the MENA Tour

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 2022 2023
Masters Tournament T23 T29
PGA Championship T36 T29 T49 T48 T29
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship NT CUT T28
  Did not play

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

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 5
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2
Totals 0 0 0 0 0 1 14 9
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (2019 PGA – 2021 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 0

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
The Players Championship T57 T35 T7 CUT C T61 T6
  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 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Championship
Match Play NT1 T18
Invitational T50
Champions NT1 NT1 NT1

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Did not play

"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 24 2022 Ending 12 Jun 2022" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved June 13, 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.
  7. ^ DiMeglio, Steve (April 16, 2022). "'I'm getting closer every time': Harold Varner III in contention once again, takes lead at RBC Heritage after third-round 63". Golfweek.
  8. ^ Craddock, Matt (May 29, 2022). "How one PGA Tour player lost over $1 million at The Charles Schwab Challenge". Golf Monthly.
  9. ^ Schlabach, Mark (August 30, 2022). "Open champion Cameron Smith, five others leave PGA Tour for LIV Golf". ESPN. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  10. ^ "Pro golfer Harold Varner III arrested for DWI in south Charlotte". WBTV. December 29, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2023.