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FRYS.COM OPENOctober 13, 2015Harold Varner IIINapa, California THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Harold Varner, III in to the interview room here at the Frys.com Open. Go easy on him. He's a rookie and incredibly nervous. HAROLD VARNER, III: Oh, yeah? THE MODERATOR: Actually I'm the one that's nervous. You're making your fourth career PGA TOUR start. You've three top 10s on the Web.Com Tour last year, including a fellow second in your first start of that tour. I believe you played in all 25 events on that tour last year. HAROLD VARNER, III: I did. THE MODERATOR: So congratulations on being out here. With that said, some thoughts on being on the PGA TOUR. HAROLD VARNER, III: Just really excited. It's another opportunity. Going to be a long season, so just need to play well. That's the key. That's what I focused on last year on the Web.Com Tour, and that's what I'm going to focus on out here. Good golf is going to take care of everything. THE MODERATOR: You've had a chance to get out and play the course today. Just some thoughts on the course and how you see it might set up for your game. HAROLD VARNER, III: It's good. It's very fair. The par-3s are pretty tough. I think all of 'em are over 215 yards or so except for like one of them. I like that. The longer the better. Sets up really well for sure my game. THE MODERATOR: With that, we'll take a few questions. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: No, not really. Just need to focus on what I need to do. Kind of a little different on the putting green and driving range because obviously a lot more stuff is going on. Playing in the Wells Fargo and the Northern Trust and obviously the U.S. Open, that experience helped out a lot. Q. How did you spend your week and a half off-season? HAROLD VARNER, III: I went to orientation and then I went to Vegas. It was a good time. Get away for a little bit. I had a blast. Had my teammates from college out there. Now I'm ready to go to work. Q. Learn anything at orientation? HAROLD VARNER, III: Yeah, stuff like this right here. (Laughter.) Q. Learn anything in Vegas? HAROLD VARNER, III: How to lose money. Yeah, learned a lot. Q. Doug mentioned the three PGA starts, what did you learn in those starts maybe about the difference, you know, what this tour demands? HAROLD VARNER, III: First the courses. They're set up a lot tougher and a lot firmer and faster. You have you have to think a little bit more. Obviously playing in the U.S. Open I just knew I needed to focus on what Harold needs to do to play well. That's what I'm going to do this whole year. I got up there and I was so caught up in the hype I guess. There were so many people. But they're here to watch you, so go play well and they'll love you more, I think. Q. You're an athletic guy and professional athlete. Probably could have excelled at a lot of different sports. What was compelling for you about golf and made you focus on golf as your career? HAROLD VARNER, III: There were two things that happened: I never got tall enough and I never got big enough. Couldn't really play basketball or football. One thing I loved about golf is you could get better without someone else. All the other sports you need a team or you kind of have to be around someone that wants to do the same thing. Golf, honestly, if you really love it I think you can get better by yourself. Q. Is there a particular swing coach in your past that helped the most? HAROLD VARNER, III: Yes, a guy named Bruce Sudderth. He actually used to be a rules official on the Champions Tour for ten years. That guy has been my guy since I was 15. I love him to death. I can't wait to see him in a couple weeks. Yeah, he taught timeout me the fundamentals of golf. When I went to him I had never had a lesson. He just took me under his wing and taught me things about life. I still talk to him all the time. Q. Talk a little bit how you got hooked on golf. From what I've read, your parents dropped you off at the local municipal course every day in the summer. What was that like and how did that access accelerate your skill? HAROLD VARNER, III: I got to the go to the golf course every day until -- my dad dropped me off at -- he had to be at work at 8:00 so I was there at like 7:45 every morning until he picked me up at 7:00 something at night. Then he would come out and practice a little bit with me. So it was just a lot of time. There was other kids out there. That made it a lot better. I had someone to play with. Then even when they would leave I could go around the chipping green. We had to shag our golf balls back then. I didn't feel like walking really far so I got really good inside of 150 yards. Q. How old were you when you started to do that every day? HAROLD VARNER, III: 12 to about 15, and then I started working at the country club when I was 15 and a half, 16. Q. Never got tired of it, every day all summer? HAROLD VARNER, III: No. What else what was I going to do? I could have done some other things. I don't know if that would've been smart. But I really enjoyed it. It helps though when there are other people out there as well. There were other kids that were trying to get better. We didn't really know what we were doing at the time. Just wanted something to do during the day. I started getting better. That helps, too. I so I really enjoyed it. I still do. Q. Do you feel that you would have gotten here sooner? About as you thought? Was the road more difficult to get on tour than you thought maybe when you were in college or when you first thought you might want to turn pro? HAROLD VARNER, III: It was way harder, but it happened pretty fast. I graduated in May of 2012, then didn't get through Q-School. That was the first time where I was like, This is not as cool as I thought it was. But I knew I was getting better. Like I was talking about Bruce, and he's seen guys, the greatest players. It's a journey. It's not just a sprint. If was a sprint I would be already done for sure. But got status for the next year, and there were things in my life where I just kind of didn't know how to help myself getting better. I like having a lot of the fun, and I can have fun in my off weeks. It's easier said than done, though. On the Web.com Tour coming up short I knew I had to get a few things in line so that it give me the best chance to play well all the time. Q. What about the First Tee Open? You won that, right, on '07, I think? HAROLD VARNER, III: I did. Q. What was that like? How did that affect you and your career path? HAROLD VARNER, III: You know, it was a great opportunity. I got to play a course I have always seen on TV. I actually keep in touch Morris Hatalsky because he lives in Jacksonville. So I see him once or twice a week sometimes when I'm in town. He just told me when I first got status, If you can't do it in eight events, it's about time you come back down. I was like, All right. I got you. But that was a really neat experience to see people come out and watch you play golf. I don't know of too many times that many people came out to watch anyone play golf, really. Q. What was the single most memorable stroke played last season for whatever reason? HAROLD VARNER, III: One stroke? Q. One stroke. HAROLD VARNER, III: I thought these questions were going to be easy. One stroke. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: Definitely don't know that one. I would say only because it's kind of recent, but it would be the birdie I made in Portland on Friday. I knew exactly what I needed to do to give myself a chance to get my PGA TOUR card. It was just fun. It was such a grind and just the leadup to one putt, I couldn't even imagine that. I was playing earlier in the year and I'm like, Ah, I'll get my card. Six months later, one putt. That's what we play for. I never thought like, Ah, I might not get it done. It was like, No, we're going to make this. That's the attitude I need to have out here. Q. How long was the putt? HAROLD VARNER, III: It was maybe 15 feet and just broke like three feet and. I just hit a really good putt. You miss a good bit of those, but the ones you want to remember are the ones you made. You asked me, and that still sticks in my mind because you just keep grinding, keep grinding. I wasn't hitting it good all day -- or all week. To have one putt to be like, Let's go. Let's go the it done. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: No, definitely. I was thinking. I don't see how people don't think about it. Yeah, I knew exactly what was going on. I would rather know. That's why you work on pressure situations and you play money games, so something matters. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: Not very often, but I remember some times that -- like missing a collegiate event knowing I could beat everyone because I didn't have good enough grades. Yeah, I remember stuff like that. Yeah, it's pretty simple. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: I'm good on that one. (Laughter.) They gave me a diploma, so I'm all right. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: I think they do. I just don't really keep tabs on it. I'm sure I've been in a situation where I didn't do exactly what I wanted to do. I've made a 14 lead in a golf tournament; junior tournaments I've done some other things I shouldn't have done. But when he get in that situation I feel like I'm getting a little better. It's just not so much like, Oh, I made to this time and missed it that time. It's not so clear. Yeah, there is failure. I'm terrified of failure, and that's why I know I'm going to succeed. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: It was. I chipped it in the water four times. Q. Two questions: First, you mentioned basketball and football. If you had gotten bigger, would you have played those? HAROLD VARNER, III: I would've played basketball if I was taller. I love me some -- I want to see LeBron win it all this year. I know ya'll do not like that, but that's who I'm pulling for. Q. Sort of unrelated, and I know this might be difficult to answer, but why do you think there haven't been more African-American players since Tiger? And if you succeed, do you think it will have an impact going forward? HAROLD VARNER, III: I mean, I hope to. I want to inspire all races. Yeah, it does surprise me. I don't think he really motivated me -- I didn't see Tiger as a black or white thing. I just know he was the best player, and he happened to be black. If me playing golf brings more African Americans to the game, then the more the merrier. But I want to bring all types of people to the game. That's my goal. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: Everything is possible. If I put my mind to it I think I can do it. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: That's a tough one. I don't know. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: That I've played with? Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: I really don't know. I hit it really wild and sometimes I get it up and down and sometimes I don't. I don't know what that would look like statistically. I don't really know. Q. Have you ever met Tiger or talked to him? HAROLD VARNER, III: I have not. I'm sure we'll cross paths soon. I'm looking forward to him coming back. Q. You're upbringing suggests that you were basically going to do whatever it took, working on your game, whether you had the means or not. Is that accurate? Could you say that? Doesn't sound like you spent money to go to golf camps or what have you, that sort of thing. HAROLD VARNER, III: No, but not because -- it's just based -- my parents didn't have the funds. You deal with it. Some things you just can't do, and I'm fine with it. You know, I don't want to look at it like, Oh, I wish I had this or I wish I had that. If I would've had that I might not have made it. But all those experiences of not being able to do things, being able to do certain things, those are fine with me. It's okay. Q. When Tiger came up, and obviously we've talked about this focus, on the lack of anyone of black heritage in so many years, et cetera, and I am sure you got loads of questions along the way. Did anything change when Joseph Branwood got his card a couple years ago? Did you notice any of the questions stop, or do you still get them regardless? HAROLD VARNER, III: No, no, I still get 'em. I don't think I'm ever going to stop getting 'em. It is what it is. That was pretty cool to see Joseph do that. I actually know Joseph. I haven't talked to him in a while, but I played in junior tournaments with him. That was pretty cool. But I had never saw it like a black or white thing. I was like, Man, I played golf with that kid and now he's got his PGA TOUR card. Q. I've seen you quoted talking about your parents and what they gave up for you to pursue golf the way you have. Can you offer any examples that helped you reach this point? HAROLD VARNER, III: You know, just whenever I had to be at golf tournament, they would miss time from work to take me to the golf course. Time from work is less money. I mean, that would be one instance. I would say just when they could have more money in their pocket and they give it to me to go have lunch at the club or whatever it was, pay an entry fees, they would do it without any questions asked. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: Man, you got some tough ones. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: I would say Pebble is right up there. I'm looking forward to Torrey, though. There are a lot of 'em. I don't know if you ever heard of a place called Diamond Creek. It's in Boone, just outside of Boone North Carolina. Just incredible. A lot of good ones. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: Played at Marion. That was pretty good, too. It was just so hard. I can't really say that was like a cool experience. I shot 1000. (Laughter.) Let's see, I mean, I've played TBC a good bit because I live there now. So that would be right up there. I played the collegiate event there three years in a row, last three years, and I've always loved it. There. Got to hit it good, so I love places where ball striking is a premium. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: Sawgrass. Sorry. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: You can ask that guy. I think I'll get into Vegas; he said I'll get into the first five, so go with that. Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: Yeah. Well what are we going to take time off for? Q. (No microphone.) HAROLD VARNER, III: No. Because every time I missed the cut I went and had fun. It was time to go back to work. THE MODERATOR: Harold, we appreciate your time. Good luck playing this week. HAROLD VARNER, III: Thank you guys. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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