PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA | For a man who had just spent four precious strokes over the final two holes of his first round in the rain-spattered Players Championship, spoiling 16 holes of near brilliance, Harold Varner III was beyond philosophical.
He was just HV3.
“It’s a game. That’s why we play it. No one is going to die out there,” Varner said late Thursday, just minutes after finishing triple bogey-bogey to go from being the early leader in the Players to among a crowd of players at 3-under-par 69.
A lot of players would have ducked the media after a finish like Varner’s but he hung around after his question-and-answer session, gave some long-time, no-see hugs to friends and if he felt like breaking something, he hid it well, knowing he would have two nights to sleep on what got away thanks to persistent storms soaking the Sawgrass Stadium Course.
“Sixteen great holes,” said Varner, among the tour’s most effervescent personalities.
Varner also knew fortune had smiled on him earlier. He thought he had lost his opening tee shot, only for Will Zalatoris’ caddie to discover Varner’s ball by accidentally stepping on it seconds before his three minutes of search time was about to expire.
“The coolest thing that happened,” Varner said.
Until Varner’s tee shot spun back off the green, no player had hit a ball in the water at the infamous par-3 17th hole. He compounded his error by nearly spinning his third shot from the drop area off the green and into the water, taking three from the fringe for a triple bogey that hit like a bucket of ice water to the face.
A tee shot into the right trees at the 18th led to a closing bogey and beyond the immediate impact of Varner’s stroke-spending spree, there was a broader implication.
Having rocketed up the world ranking with his victory in the Saudi International last month, Varner sits at No. 49 this week. To qualify for the Masters, Varner needs to be ranked 50th or better at the conclusion of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in two weeks.
Beyond a PGA Tour victory, which would automatically qualify Varner for the Masters (the Saudi win was an Asian Tour event), one more good finish should be enough to get him to the Masters for the first time.
“I want to get to Augusta. I’ve always wanted to be there.” – Harold Varner III
There is the old adage that playing well will take care of everything and Varner understands that. But he also watches the ranking like he watches leaderboards.
“I want to get to Augusta. I’ve always wanted to be there,” Varner said.
“You’re always looking at the score of a basketball game. I think it’s messed up how the world rankings work now that I’m paying more attention to it. Like you can not play and move up, so it’s pretty odd.
“I’m glad I don’t have to crunch the numbers, but it is what it is, and I think I’ll have a great opportunity to get to Augusta.”
That’s why he’s playing the next two weeks, assuming this weather-wrecked Players Championship eventually ends.
“Put it in my hands, no one else’s,” Varner said.
Varner is in his seventh full season and is still chasing his first PGA Tour victory. He won the 2016 Australian PGA Championship and holed a 92-foot eagle putt on the 72nd hole to win the Saudi International.
His Saudi victory came amidst the ongoing discussion about a new golf league funded by the Saudis’ Public Investment Fund and catapulted Varner’s name into the conversation about players who might join the Greg Norman-led league.
Varner indicated he was surprised by seeing his name listed among players who might leave the PGA Tour for the new league.
“My name went right to the top of the list,” Varner said.
It’s no secret that a number of players have listened to what the new league is reportedly offering and by winning in Saudi Arabia, where many of the interested players were playing, Varner found his name linked to the new group on social media.
“I’m just saying whenever you go on social media you can see that people talk about it,” Varner said.
“If I wouldn’t have won, no one would have talked about it.”
Since then, Varner said he and commissioner Jay Monahan have talked about his plans.
“I do have to commend Jay for sitting down and talking to me and being totally open,” Varner said. “I look at Jay as a friend, but it’s pretty odd how my name just went straight to the top of the list.
“You (the media) do your job, that’s what you do, and I thought that was pretty odd. I’ve always supported the PGA Tour when they needed me, and I want to be there.”