MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 8, 2022

Harold Varner

Quick Quotes

Q. Harold, your first Masters. How much is the week unfolding exactly as you would have wished?

HAROLD VARNER III: As a golfer, you always can find something, but it's been great. Great experience, but like the best experience is playing well. At the end of the day, that's what I want to do. That's very selfish, and I'm totally okay with that.

I just want to keep doing what I'm doing. It's only going to get tougher. Everyone's going to keep talking about it, but I just want to have a chance to win.

Q. Have you seen an elevation in your ability over the last few months?

HAROLD VARNER III: Yeah, my scores have showed it, for sure.

Q. What do you think has changed?

HAROLD VARNER III: I think winning just breeds winning. I never doubted that I could win, but it's just never happened. I've been there, shot some high numbers when it's mattered a lot, and I guess maturity. But the biggest thing is just running my journey. I think the media does a really good job of making sure that you're companioned with someone else or running someone else's course.

I never forget, Tiger told me the greatest thing. I asked him, what does it take to win? He said, you quit worrying about winning, you'll keep it. It's helped my demeanor just do what I'm good at, play golf, hit the shot that it calls for. I think you have to do that a lot out here.

Q. Is winning the only measurement of success for you right now?

HAROLD VARNER III: No, I think getting better should be the ultimate measurement, like, hey, every time I play, I feel like I'm getting closer. I'm going to build on that, and eventually I'll break through, which happened -- I've got to say overseas.

Q. How much does attitude play on this course?

HAROLD VARNER III: I think attitude is life more than golf, but it doesn't hurt. I said this morning, control what you can control. I don't control the weather, but I control how I approach every shot and how I handle things that come my way.

Q. How has your shot making changed with the weather changing?

HAROLD VARNER III: They became a little bit harder for sure. Different lines, but it's still golf, it's still a lot of fun. You know where you need to hit it, and if you don't do it, you're going to make a high number of bogeys.

Q. Was it fun for you to see Tiger out here playing well?

HAROLD VARNER III: So the first time I've seen him hit a golf shot out here, either on person or on TV, was while I was doing another interview. You just pull so hard for him. Obviously he's great for the sport. If he's around, we're going to make a lot of money.

You just want to see him do well. You've seen him do so many incredible things, my whole life, and you just got to take that away. We're so happy to see him, and we're glad he's alive. Just keep it in perspective.

Q. You talk about -- obviously you're focused on yourself out here and playing well, but you've talked a lot about the greater picture of what you represent as a black golfer and trying to get more people involved in the game, black golfers in the game, and here you are. Coming here a few months after Lee Elder's death and he being here last year, what does this mean to you in that scheme of things of what you may mean to somebody out here watching you that is thinking more about your shots you just hit but what you represent to them?

HAROLD VARNER III: I represent Harold, and I think people can figure out what they take from that. I would hope I would represent kids that just don't have access would be my number one thing. If a black or white kid wants to be like me, I think that would be an inspirational thing. I would hope I'd carry myself in a way where they would want to be as close to the profession as they could.

I think a lot of times in the black community, I think it's more about the economic issues. It's just hard to play golf. You can't just walk up and play golf for a reasonable price. I'm very adamant about helping those people, and if they're black, I'm going to help them, and if they're white, I'm going to help them.

Q. What's it like sharing this week with -- your parents are here. Your baby is here. What's it like sharing this special week, one of the most important in the game, and your folks are walking in the gallery?

HAROLD VARNER III: It's unbelievable. I just saw my dad for the first time just now. He doesn't like to watch. He gets too nervous, but I seen my mom. I can't wait to see my kid. Like I said earlier, he's probably going to throw up on me. Yeah, it's awesome.

Once again, keep it in perspective. I think the big picture is you accomplish something great, but it's what you do with that opportunity. That's what we're here to do.

Q. What's been the most surprising part of this journey for you, maybe something you encountered that you didn't expect? Just this first time around for you.

HAROLD VARNER III: The coolest part is I haven't had to go to the locker room. I just literally changed in the caddie room, and I leave my stuff -- I like doing that at regular tournaments, and I've only been in the locker room once to see if some shoes showed up, and I have to go back again. I don't know, it makes it easy on me.

Q. What makes Tiger, Tiger?

HAROLD VARNER III: Winning. He's won a lot of times. You know, it's pretty funny when people -- if somebody wins something, they're like Tiger did this, and he just never amounts. It's undue pressure. He's obviously changed the game.

He's not the reason I play golf, but he's the reason I watch golf.

Q. Have you allowed yourself, Harold, to think about wearing the green jacket?

HAROLD VARNER III: Yeah, I think about it all the time. If you're not -- yeah, hell yeah. That's what I want. That's what I'm here to do. So when I go home, I need to just sit back -- it's gotten easier, though, with a family because you don't have time to think about it. You just hold him, and you're like he doesn't give a s--t if I have a green jacket or a gold jacket.

It's unbelievable. Everyone has told me it changes, but you don't understand until they start getting older. You look at your wife differently. Things that you do that you don't even think twice of.

Q. I'm not sure of the math involved here, but are you here if you don't make a 90-foot putt in Saudi Arabia?

HAROLD VARNER III: I don't know, but I'd like my chances. We can't go back, but I think it helped out a lot.

Q. You saw a providential, almost providential nature in that putt. How much do you look at it and say the impossibility of making that?

HAROLD VARNER III: It's always possible. I thought it was possible for me to make it. I thought the coolest thing is I've been getting close for the last year, and for that to go in, it's like yes. That's what you work for. You work for those moments. You can tell in the reaction I like to celebrate, so it probably wasn't cool for the world, but like that's who I am.

Q. Did you think you had a pretty good shot to chip that in on 10?

HAROLD VARNER III: I thought -- I mean, you're not going to hit it to the right and have a good shot to chip it in. I knew, if I hit it to the left, I could chip it up there and have an easy par. It was rolling, and I was like, oh, cool, I can go tap it in. And people started raising their hands, and I was like hell yeah.

Q. Harold, I don't know if I've read the research on this. I think it's the first time three black golfers have played in the Masters at the same time, with you, Cameron, and Tiger. I'm sure you haven't thought about that, but what do you think that represents again in kind of the history of the game?

HAROLD VARNER III: I think it represents those guys have played really well. I think in professional sports, I think that scoreboard doesn't read color. I think that's very -- I've never been asked about being a black golfer until I got on the PGA TOUR.

Yeah, if that's it, that's cool. I would hope to see more, but it's going to be up to that person. It's not going to be the color of their skin that's going to get them there. You're going to get there on merit, and I think that's awesome.

Q. It's obviously been 25 years since Tiger won here for the first time. Is there a moment or memory that he created here that maybe served as a source of inspiration for you?

HAROLD VARNER III: Not at all. I was 6 years old and wasn't watching golf. The most memorable one would be 2019. I was just talking about this. A good friend of mine named Daniel Meggs, Tiger sent him a video on Wednesday, and Daniel replied back. He said, Tiger's going to win on Sunday. I'm like he's full of it, in my head.

When he ends up winning, next thing I know I'm crying. People are crying because Tiger won. I'm crying because this kid's dying and Tiger took the time out of his Wednesday to send him a video.

Yeah, that's more important to me than any -- I guess some black guy winning. He didn't have to do that.

Q. Any sage advice from Michael Jordan this week?

HAROLD VARNER III: Not yet. I had to wear Carolina Blue because of him. I don't think he cares. I think he just wants to see me do well and have a chance to win.

Q. When you all play, is the rumor that you have give him ten shots?

HAROLD VARNER III: He said, since I haven't won, I've got to give him eight shots. When I win, I have to give him ten. Yeah, we'll see.

Q. The turnaround from yesterday at 13, 14 where you were 3-over, now you're 2-under. What does that mean as far as your opportunity now one stroke off the lead?

HAROLD VARNER III: Yeah, I'm not going to quit. So I just knew, if I hung in there -- I played last Wednesday. I played Sunday. And then on Tuesday -- Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday I played with D.J., and we were playing golf, we were gambling. I put myself in some places where I was kind of in a bind, and you've just got to figure out, hey, I can't hit it there. You don't really notice that when you're actually practicing, but when you're playing for money, you notice it.

Q. Is there an attitude you have to have as a first-timer to perform as well as you have?

HAROLD VARNER III: I don't know. That's a great question.

Q. What was your approach?

HAROLD VARNER III: It's the same as every other tournament. Do the little things, trust what I do best. I have an unbelievable caddie that I don't carry a yardage book. So he just tells me where to hit it, and I just go hit the golf shot.

Q. Michael Jordan is obviously, he might be the greatest athlete in this country. To have him as a friend, what has it meant to you? What kind of impact has it had on your career?

HAROLD VARNER III: He's obviously given me awesome sponsorship, but he's been a great friend. I've asked him all kinds of questions, business questions, hung out with him here and there. So that means a lot more to me.

I think everyone just sees the logo, and they're like that's super cool. He's the greatest athlete. But for me just being able to pick up the phone and call him has been the best part of the relationship.

Q. Harold, the kids growing up on putting greens, pretending to sink a putt to win the Masters, U.S. Open, and all that. Did you do that? At this point does the reality come close to what the imagination is?

HAROLD VARNER III: So I hadn't played here. So mine was always the U.S. Open just because it's in my country and I take pride in that. I think it's hard, and I embrace that.

But yeah, on 18 I was like what if you had this to win? And I was messing with my caddie. Yeah, I think about it all the time.