Harold Varner III earned his PGA Tour card in 2015 after a couple of seasons on the then-named Web.com Tour.
Varner became the first African American to earn his Tour card through the Web.com Tour. At his first professional win, the 2016 Australian PGA Championship, he became the first American to win the event since Hale Irwin did so in 1978.
Besides breaking barriers, Varner had a solid career in his time on the PGA Tour. Although he never won a PGA Tour event, HV3 did come close to winning the 2019 PGA Championship but struggled in the final pairing on Sunday, shooting 81 to finish in a tie for 36th.
A career best T-2 finish at the RBC Heritage in 2021, he held the 54 hole lead at the event in 2022 before Jordan Spieth erased the lead to win by one.
After the conclusion of the 2021-22 PGA Tour season, Varner III announced he was leaving for LIV Golf. Unlike most of his new colleagues, the former ECU Pirate gave a refreshing answer as to why he chose to leave the PGA Tour.
“The opportunity to join LIV Golf is simply too good of a financial breakthrough for me to pass by. I know what it means to grow up without much. This money is going to ensure that my kid and future Varners will have a solid base to start on – and a life I could have only dreamt about growing up,” Varner wrote in a post on his Instagram account. “It’ll also help fund many of the programs I’m building with my Foundation. I’ll continue to forge pathways for kids interested in golf. This note is a receipt of for that.”
