Harold Varner III was on the phone from Saudi Arabia last week, having just finished a practice session in the 95-degree heat in advance of the LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah event, his fourth start since deciding to join the controversial new league.
Two months ago, Varner was still part of the PGA Tour. Now, with an eight-figure signing bonus in his bank account, Varner is all in on his new professional life while understanding his decision didn’t – and may never – sit well with many.
“Man, if I had seen this before I signed and you cut my deal in half, I still would have come,” said Varner, who originally turned down a deal worth more than the one he eventually signed.
“I’m having fun. It’s way cooler than I thought it would be.”
Amid the sniping and animosity that has mushroomed between traditionalists on the PGA Tour’s side and LIV Golf’s new-age disciples, Varner has worked to remain true to himself and his family.
Varner has said his decision to leave the PGA Tour was based on money. Everything else fell into line. Others were reluctant to put it so bluntly.
Before he signed his deal with LIV Golf’s Saudi backers, Varner watched and listened as friends making the jump touched all the talking points about why they left the PGA Tour – more family time, growing the game, etc. – and he sighed as they danced around the money part.
He just wants to play golf, have enough money that he and his wife, Amanda, and their 1-year-old son, Liam, never have to worry about paying bills and enjoy life.
“I’m not here to ruffle feathers. I’m here to play golf, make money, have an awesome life,” Varner said. “We’ve created this thing that if you get on the PGA Tour, the next step is to win, then get in the top 50 (of the Official World Golf Ranking), then win a major. That’s what they see as successful.
“I went along with the flow. But it’s like anything in life: You do something different, they will dislike you.”
Plenty of people are easy to dislike. Harold Varner III is not one of them.
“A man’s character is determined after he has received everything. I have everything now, so we will see. We chase a white golf ball around the world for a lot of money. I’ve always said that. I just roll in that comfort zone.”
Harold Varner III
So, when Varner said in a press conference last week that “whenever you leave a family, you become hated. And in a real family, no matter what your son does or daughter, they are family and you take care of them, and that's just not been the way,” he was making a point that some missed and misrepresented on social media.
“I was trying to explain how the PGA Tour is like a family; they tell you that. How many times over the years have you heard that?” Varner said. “In a real family, no matter what you’ve done, you will be welcome home. That’s not how it is.”
There is a with-us-or-against-us vibe to the tour’s ongoing challenge from LIV Golf, and Varner doesn’t like the conflict. He’s not here for the drama, but it comes with the territory these days. He fears the bickering will drive fans away on both sides.
He also understands his decision has branded him with a scarlet letter in some eyes.
“When you go to LIV, it’s like monsters took our talent. That’s not the way it is,” Varner said.
“There’s been a lot of drama, stuff I’m not good at. I’m just good at going to the land and hitting balls.”
Varner went to LIV with his eyes wide open. He knew that the new organization might not qualify for world-ranking points in the short term or the long term. He knew his chances to play in the major championships likely would be diminished.
Ultimately, he decided that he could live with himself even if he had to live without some of what he had. Life is full of tradeoffs, and Varner made his.
“If you go play the PGA Tour, you don’t have to explain anything,” Varner said.
“Here I knew exactly what I signed up for when I signed up. I knew what the possibilities could be. Do we deserve ranking points? There are enough good players out here now that I think we do.
“I’ll try to qualify for the U.S. Open. It doesn’t bother me. I won’t chase world-ranking points. It was never about ranking points for me,” said Varner, 32, whose only two victories on major professional tours came at the 2016 Australian PGA and the 2022 Saudi International. He ranked No. 44 in the world in August when he signed with LIV Golf and stands No. 46 now.
Could the PGA Tour have done some things to keep Varner from jumping? Probably, but Varner liked what LIV was offering. He didn’t attend the players-only meeting during the BMW Championship playoff event in August in Delaware because he wasn’t invited.
By that point, he had made his decision for his own reasons.
Last December, Varner was on crutches with a nerve issue in his foot. It made him think about what might happen if health issues got in the way of his career.
“Kinda scary,” he said.
He thought about his parents, who raised him in Gastonia, North Carolina, near Charlotte and the sacrifices they made for him.
“I don’t want my kid to do what I did. If I worked 9 to 5, I wouldn’t be sending my kid to the course when I couldn’t afford it, but my parents did it for me,” Varner said.
“You’re telling me I can make X, Y and Z and it’s guaranteed … I’ve got to go do it and I get to help more people.
“I wanted to do it.”
A member at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, Varner attended the Presidents Cup last month and thought about what it would have meant to be on the United States team. He also wondered how some members might treat him.
“Once I made the decision, everyone was like, ‘Yeah, man, go do it,’” Varner said. “Charlotte is a very capitalistic city, and a lot of people were like, ‘Go get your money.’”
He holds no grudge against the PGA Tour. In fact, Varner has worn a Presidents Cup cap as he has flown from Charlotte to Bangkok to Jeddah and, eventually, back home.
Near the end of the phone call, Varner shares a bit of wisdom passed down to him.
“A man’s character is determined after he has received everything. I have everything now, so we will see,” Varner said. “We chase a white golf ball around the world for a lot of money. I’ve always said that. I just roll in that comfort zone.”
Varner will play in the LIV finale next week in Miami, and then his tournament schedule is clear until March, when LIV resumes. He will stay busy, though.
“I’m playing an interclub match at home (this weekend),” Varner said. “I’m so pumped about it.
“I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing. I love what I’m doing. They can’t take the love I have for golf away.”
The money didn’t buy that. It’s still priceless.
Top: Harold Varner III celebrates an ace during the pro-am of the LIV Invitational Series Bangkok.
E-Mail Ron