THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 13, 2022

Harold Varner

TPC Sawgrass

Quick Quotes

Q. How exciting was that?

HAROLD VARNER III: It was good. It wasn't that early, but it seemed to be early. No, great round. Hung in there. It's not playing easy, but it's not playing as hard as yesterday. I saw some crazy shots yesterday.

Super fortunate with my wave and just trying to make most of it.

Q. Harold, this is a marathon, not a sprint. How important is mindset going into the rest of the tournament?

HAROLD VARNER III: It's the most important thing even if the weather's perfect. I think the best athletes either have the best mind or they just have an idea where they just hang in there and just know that at the end of the day they're going to come out on top.

It's the only thing you control, your attitude. Just approach every shot with an opportunity to do something good. I try to do that every day. Doesn't always work that way. I feel like I'm doing a good job executing shots right now.

Q. How cold was it this morning?

HAROLD VARNER III: It was not warm. I'm in a lot of clothes right now. Funny enough, I used to live here, so I've played it colder. Yeah, it is what it is.

I don't really control that. I try to just stay away from those things and just try to do my job the best I can.

Q. Do you make any adjustments for that?

HAROLD VARNER III: I put on more clothes. I didn't have on rain pants, and I got some rain pants at the last second, and it was worth it.

Q. Given the extremes of weather that have been thrown at this crew this week, starting with really hot weather and then really cold weather, the wind, the rain, how has the grounds crew, Jeff Plotts' guys done?

HAROLD VARNER III: They've done an unbelievable job. I always say this: They can't hide money. I think at the end of the day, they have some unbelievable irrigation, whatever it is, SubAir, and then just to have the people, the manpower, the people to get the water off of it. I've seen some of the pictures from Instagram. Obviously they've done a great job. I couldn't believe how dry it was from yesterday evening when I played -- I mean, I played four holes, how soft it was, to this morning.

Yeah, it's super impressive. They do it pretty right here, so I don't expect anything less really.

Q. What did the Saudi win do for you? How much do you look back on that?

HAROLD VARNER III: Winning helps out anywhere. I know how to win. I'm not worried about anyone else. The field was really good there. Yeah, it didn't hurt, that's for sure.

Q. As hot of a topic as Saudi has been, I think I read somewhere you were a little bit taken aback from some of the reaction, maybe social media reaction and whatnot, that it was not positive for you winning but more negative because of where you won?

HAROLD VARNER III: Yeah, I said I never thought winning would be a bad thing. I said that, and I still mean that. It's history now, and I have a great opportunity to win here.

Q. What hole were you on when you came back?

HAROLD VARNER III: 13 green.

Q. How huge was it to play 17 and 18 the way you did in the cold as compared to the other day?

HAROLD VARNER III: Oh, it's massive. Obviously I'm seeing some of the golf yesterday and just seeing some of the shots. Those guys are some of the, if not the best players in the world right now, seeing some of the shots they hit. Super fortunate with our wave. Sometimes it works out that way, but if you don't take advantage of it, it doesn't matter.

Q. How good was the par on 18?

HAROLD VARNER III: 18, it was good. 18 and 9. That's what it's all about. I enjoy that part of golf. Like I always say, no one's going to die out here. I have a great opportunity to do something good, and I want to take advantage of it and have fun doing it.

Q. Was that a time when the par at 18 kind of felt like a birdie?

HAROLD VARNER III: Yeah, that was hard right now. Yeah, I hit it right. Fortunate enough to be able to have a shot and got it close to the green and didn't hit a great chip and was fortunate enough to make a putt. That's what it's all about, just saving it while you can. Kept the momentum in the round for sure.

Q. You're the co-leader in the clubhouse right now at the PLAYERS Championship. What does that mean to you?

HAROLD VARNER III: There's a lot of golf to be played. Obviously, you can see what can happen out here. I did it on the first day, so you've just got to, like I said, hang in there.

I think it's very fun. It's awesome. I enjoy that part of competing in anything in life really.

Q. How did you spend your time when the play was called the other day? What did you do?

HAROLD VARNER III: Absolutely nothing. I took a lot of naps. My kid's here, so I napped with him a few times. We had a board meeting for my foundation. I had a lot of people over, and they had a lot of fun. So it was entertaining watching them.