Harold Varner III (born August 15, 1990) is an American professional golfer who has played on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

. He won the

Australian PGA Championship The Australian PGA Championship is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. It is the home tournament of the Australian PGA. Since 2000 it has been held in the South East Queensland region. The tournament was part of the OneAsia Tour fro ...

in December 2016 and the PIF Saudi International in February 2022.

Amateur career

Varner was born in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

, but raised in

Gastonia, North Carolina Gastonia is the largest city in and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest satellite city of the Charlotte area, behind Concord. The population was 80,411 at the 2020 census, up from 71,741 in 20 ...

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. He also competed in the 2010

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

Chambers Bay Chambers Bay is a public golf course in the northwest United States, located in University Place, Washington, on the Puget Sound southwest of Tacoma. The British links-style course is owned by Pierce County and opened for play on June 23, 200 ...

University Place, Washington University Place is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. Its population was 34,866 at the 2020 census. Based on per capita income, University Place ranks 81st of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked. History Universi ...

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 The Rex Hospital Open is a regular golf tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour. It is played annually at the TPC Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wa ...

. He finished 30th on the money list in his first full season. He also played in two

events, the

Northern Trust Open The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually in ...

(T70) and

Wells Fargo Championship The Wells Fargo Championship is a professional golf tournament in North Carolina on the PGA Tour. Held in early May at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte (except in 2022, when it was played at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm), it has attracted some of t ...

(missed cut). In 2015, he had five top-25 finishes and a runner-up finish at the

Panama Claro Championship The Panama Championship is a golf tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour. It is played annually at Panama Golf Club in Panama City, Panama. It is one of several tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour held outside the United States. The 2023 purse was $1,00 ...

. 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 Black 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

, a tournament co-sanctioned by the

PGA Tour of Australasia The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf Ra ...

and the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...

. He is only the second American to win the Australian PGA Championship and the first since

Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American professional golfer. He was one of the world's leading golfers from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. He is one of the few players in history to win three U.S. Opens, becoming the oldest ever U.S. Op ...

won it in 1978. He also became the third black man to win on the European Tour after Vincent Tshabalala of South Africa and

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

. In May 2019, Varner was tied for second heading into the final round of the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

Bethpage Black The Bethpage Black Course is a public golf course at Bethpage State Park on Long Island, New York. The course was designed by Joseph H. Burbeck and was assited by noted golf architect A. W. Tillinghast. It is the most difficult of Bethpage's f ...

outside of New York City. He played in the final group with eventual champion

Brooks Koepka Brooks Koepka (, born May 3, 1990) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LIV Golf tour. In October 2018, he became world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking for 47 weeks after winning the 2018 CJ Cup. He won the U.S. Ope ...

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 The RBC Heritage, known for much of its history as the Heritage Classic or simply the Heritage, is a PGA Tour event in South Carolina, first played in 1969. It is currently played in mid-April, the week after The Masters in Augusta, Georgia. T ...

; four shots behind Stewart Cink. In February 2022, Varner won the PIF Saudi International on the

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for Wo ...

. He eagled the final hole with a 92 foot putt to beat Bubba Watson by one shot. In April 2022, Varner held his first solo 54-hole PGA Tour lead at the

. He finished tied for third, one shot behind winner

Jordan Spieth Jordan Alexander Spieth (born July 27, 1993) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion. Spieth's first majo ...

. He moved to a career high 36th in the world rankings. In May 2022 at the

Charles Schwab Challenge The Colonial National Invitation, titled for sponsorship reasons as the Charles Schwab Challenge since 2019, is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played annually in May in Fort Worth at Colonial Country Club, which organi ...

, 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. In August 2022, it was announced that Varner had joined

LIV Golf LIV Golf () is a professional golf tour financed by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. The name "LIV" refers to the Roman numerals for 54, the score if every hole on a par-72 course were birdied and the number ...

Professional wins (3)

European Tour wins (1)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

Asian Tour wins (1)

LIV Golf League wins (1)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

MENA Tour The MENA Tour is a golf tour in the Middle East and North Africa. It was founded in 2011 by the Dubai-based Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation. It was previous affiliated to The R&A and the Arab Golf Federation. The previous iteration of the tour was ...

Results in major championships

''Results not in chronological order in 2020.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (2019 PGA – 2021 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 0

Results in The Players Championship

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

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Varner, Harold, III American male golfers African-American golfers PGA Tour golfers LIV Golf players Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Ohio Golfers from Charlotte, North Carolina East Carolina University alumni Sportspeople from Akron, Ohio 1990 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople