MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 4, 2023

Harold Varner III

Quick Quotes

Q. Second Masters now. Feel like a veteran out here?

HAROLD VARNER III: No, I don't think you ever feel like a veteran out here. I'm not hitting it well right now so I'm pretty pissed off. And then we just got destroyed, so that wasn't fun.

No, I'm ready to compete. It's good to see people I haven't seen in a while. Nothing crazy at all really. Just having fun.

Q. Were you paired with Talor?

HAROLD VARNER III: Yeah, it did not go as well. It's the jackets versus the no jackets. If I play like that, I won't have a jacket.

Q. Talk about the transition from one to the other, at the Orange County National last weekend and now?

HAROLD VARNER III: They're different, that's for sure. This one's a little bit harder. It was good.

I started hitting it a little bit better, so that's exciting. Just want to be ready for Thursday. I think it's going to be a great week.

Q. You've played with Phil a lot. You've seen him more than we have. What have you seen out of him recently, his game, and kind of out there today?

HAROLD VARNER III: He's super engaged right now. I don't know if that's because it's Augusta, but super helpful.

I don't know, when we're playing LIV events we're usually just talking smack and going through the emotions.

Q. What's the worst smack talk you heard from him?

HAROLD VARNER III: I think I heard -- we're going to eat in the champions locker room in a second, so that's about as bad as it can be.

Q. Was there a particular shot that he hit out there today that was pretty impressive?

HAROLD VARNER III: No. I wasn't paying attention to anyone really. I was everywhere.

So, no, we didn't play well. D.J. birdied 17 and just made 18 not very fun.

Q. Do you put more pressure on yourself this week, do you think?

HAROLD VARNER III: Yeah, I want to play well. Everyone thinks we suck now, so I want to play great.

Q. Why do people think you suck?

HAROLD VARNER III: I don't know. You all write it and I just read it. I don't pay attention.

Q. Did I ever write that?

HAROLD VARNER III: I don't know who wrote it. They have Twitter and social media. They just write.

I want to play well. It's not like Space Jam where they took our talents away, so I'm super excited. I want to play well. That's why you play.

Q. Why do you read it?

HAROLD VARNER III: It's always on my Twitter. They used to write nice stuff, but now it's just chaos. But I work well in chaos, so I'll be good.

Q. What's your mind game like?

HAROLD VARNER III: Just got to be mentally tough. I think the weather is going to be tough. Saturday is going to be tough. I remember I didn't play well last year when it was cold. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

I get up for things that I feel like might not go my way, and that excites me. That's what I really love about golf.

Q. How do you feel playing so close to home?

HAROLD VARNER III: It's going to be cool whenever my kid and my wife gets here. It's going to be awesome. I'm going to mess with him all night. So it will be good.

Q. What's the biggest benefit of being on the LIV tour rather than the PGA TOUR?

HAROLD VARNER III: I think I said this a hundred times. It's the amount of money. It's generational. The way I grew up, it's important to me to take care of my family, and you can do it by just signing on the dotted line.

That's why I've always played golf. I don't think many people come from my background economically. I've said that, and I'd do it again.

Q. What about the time? I see you doing community stuff at the country club and things of that nature. Do you have more time to do it?

HAROLD VARNER III: I do have more time, but I really -- it kind of sucks sometimes because I think you should just do it because it's the right thing to do. People want to see what you're doing, so you have to post about it.

So I don't ever post about it. The social media people do that. But I really would like to do it in silence because that's the way it should be.

But if you're not posting about it, you're not doing anything. So it's kind of ironic.

Q. Now that you're here on property this week, has the reception just from everyone, whether it's patrons or us or other players that you haven't seen in a while, is it better, about the same, or worse?

HAROLD VARNER III: It's the same. I think people are excited to have people playing golf. I mean, everyone gets excited about the Masters. I've spoken to a number of guys by text and phone calls since I've left. So just checking on them.

My good friend Ben Kohles is one on the Korn Ferry. My best friend plays on the Korn Ferry. So I keep up with it. It's not like I -- I don't watch as much because we're playing at the same time sometimes, and I don't have time to do other stuff. I didn't really watch much golf in the first place. I just get on the phone and see how people played.

Q. (No microphone) What is the fun part of this tournament?

HAROLD VARNER III: The most fun is that we have an opportunity to play with the best players. I think everyone -- most of them are here, and that's exciting for me. That's what I've always wanted to do, and I got another chance.

You had to play well to get in. I think I got a little lucky with the World Rankings, but who cares now I got in?