Harold Varner III
Introduction
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 longest drivers of the golf ball on tour. Varner is one of just a handful of African-American professional 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. 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. He is only the second American to win the Australian PGA Championship and the first since Hale Irwin won it in 1978.
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 Championship (co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia) |
−19 (65-72-67-65=269) | 2 strokes |  Andrew Dodt |
European Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015 | Australian PGA Championship |  Dylan Frittelli, Nathan Holman |
Holman won with par on first extra hole |
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | T66 |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied