PGA Tour: Harold Varner III shares first-round lead at Colonial

Harold Varner III is in contention after one round of the Charles Schwab Challenge, the restart of the PGA Tour season

The past two weeks have put Harold Varner III in the spotlight on the PGA Tour. With everything going on in the United States related to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and the subsequent protests for racial equality, Varner has drawn a lot of attention as one of the few African-Americans in the world of professional golf. As the tour resumes this week at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Varner is one player in focus.

Varner discussed race relations with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan last week as the country discusses race relation perhaps as much as ever before. That came after Varner released a statement on his feelings about the Floyd situation and race relations in the United States.

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It just made sense, as the PGA Tour got back underway on Thursday with the Charles Schwab Challenge, that Varner would draw a share of the attention this week. However, what might not have been anticipated was that Varner would gain notice not only for his race, but also for his play.

Varner fired a 7-under par 63 on Thursday at Colonial Country Club to share the first-round lead with Justin Rose. The round is just the start of what Varner hopes will be a big week in Fort Worth.

Beginning on the front nine, Varner got off to a very fast start

He birdied the first two holes of his round and added birdies on number six and number nine to finish the first nine with a 4-under par 31.

Varner did not slow down on the back nine. He started the back nine with a birdie on the 10th hole and added a birdie on the 12th hole. From there, it was five straight pars before Varner rolled in a birdie putt on the 18th hole to tie Rose for the lead after 18 holes.

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Currently 124th in the Official World Golf Rankings, Varner sees himself in uncharted territory. Granted, it’s just the first round, but Varner has not only never won on tour, he’s actually never finished second. He is in his fifth full year on tour and his best finish was a tie for third at last year’s Northern Trust, in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Everyone knew that Varner would draw a lot of attention this week, just due to what’s going on in the country. With a lot more eyeballs on him than normal, the 29-year-old stepped up and had one of the best rounds of his career. If he can stay in contention all weekend, it would be a wonderful story, especially with the country undergoing somewhat of a cultural dialogue at this very moment. And more so for Varner, it would be a huge boost to his career.

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