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 | |
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Personal information | |
Born | Akron, Ohio | August 15, 1990
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
Weight | 165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st) |
Nationality | |
Residence | Jacksonville Beach, Florida |
Career | |
College | East Carolina University |
Turned professional | 2012 |
Current tour(s) | PGA Tour European Tour |
Former tour(s) | Web.com Tour |
Professional wins | 1 |
Number of wins by tour | |
European Tour | 1 |
PGA Tour of Australasia | 1 |
Best results in major championships | |
Masters Tournament | DNP |
PGA Championship | T29: 2020 |
U.S. Open | CUT: 2013, 2018 |
The Open Championship | T66: 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 |
1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia
European Tour playoff record (0–1)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2015 | Australian PGA Championship | Holman won with par on first extra hole |
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 |
---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | ||
PGA Championship | T36 | T29 |
U.S. Open | ||
The Open Championship | NT |
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 |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships
Tournament | 2017 |
---|---|
Championship | |
Match Play | |
Invitational | T50 |
Champions |
"T" = Tied
See also
References
- "Harold Varner Bio". ECU Pirates. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
- "American Harold Varner III wins Australian PGA Championship". ESPN. Australian Associated Press. December 4, 2016.
- "Past Champions". Australian PGA Championship. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
External links
- Harold Varner III at the PGA Tour official site
- Harold Varner III at the Official World Golf Ranking official site