Harold Varner III

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 professional golfers. He won the Australian PGA Championship in December 2016.

Harold Varner III
Personal information
Born (1990-08-15) August 15, 1990
Akron, Ohio
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st)
Nationality United States
ResidenceJacksonville Beach, Florida
Career
CollegeEast Carolina University
Turned professional2012
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
European Tour
Former tour(s)Web.com Tour
Professional wins1
Number of wins by tour
European Tour1
PGA Tour of Australasia1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipT29: 2020
U.S. OpenCUT: 2013, 2018
The Open ChampionshipT66: 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.[1] 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 a fairly consistent season that includes 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.[2] He is only the second American to win the Australian PGA Championship and the first since Hale Irwin won it in 1978.[3] 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.

Professional wins (1)

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 Andrew Dodt

1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
1 2015 Australian PGA Championship Dylan Frittelli, Nathan Holman Holman won with par on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament201320142015201620172018
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT CUT
The Open Championship T66
PGA Championship CUT
Tournament 20192020
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship T36 T29
U.S. Open
The Open Championship NT
  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
The Players Championship T57 T35 T7 CUT
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships
Tournament2017
Championship
Match Play
Invitational T50
Champions
  Did not play

"T" = Tied

See also

References
  1. "Harold Varner Bio". ECU Pirates. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  2. "American Harold Varner III wins Australian PGA Championship". ESPN. Australian Associated Press. December 4, 2016.
  3. "Past Champions". Australian PGA Championship. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
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