Being in Contention Is So Addictive - I Love It

We speak to Saudi International winner Harold Varner III about the peaks and troughs of pro golf and that elusive first PGA Tour victory...

- By Garrett Johnston. Photographs by Getty Images

Harold Varner III has a smile that lights up the room. He’s relatable, he looks people in the eye and he loves to laugh and keep things light. Now aged 31, his nearly seven years on the PGA Tour have brought both ups and downs, but one thing’s for sure: Varner is hungry for success. He’s tasted the thick of a Major Sunday in the final group with Brooks Koepka and he recently recorded his most high-profile win at the Saudi International with an unforgettable 92-foot eagle putt on the 18th. The next step is a PGA Tour victory and he’s determined to make that happen sooner rather than later…

How do you look back on your early PGA Tour years?

I was just playing golf, and little did I know that I was playing some of the best golf of my life. It was nuts, and it went by fast. The greatest year was the one when I almost lost my card [2016/17] because so much life happened. My wife lost her brother, it was just super high to low. I won the Australian PGA and came back and we were celebrating, and I found out while we were celebrating. I wasn’t a man then; I wasn’t able to handle that life isn’t fair.

When you’re little, your parents keep some life stuff away from you, like bills or whatever. You’re in your own little cloud, you’re with your boys. You might get a butt whopping for not being home on time or doing something stupid, but in reality they put a cloud around you.