LIV GOLF WASHINGTON DC

May 26, 2023

Harold Varner

Trump National Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome Harold Varner III from RangeGoats GC. Welcome, Harold. You shot 7-under today, had a great day. Tell us a little bit about it.

HAROLD VARNER III: Oh, yeah, it was good. I played great. Made some more eagles, so that was good. I helped the RangeGoats.

Q. Tell us a little bit about that eagle on 9.

HAROLD VARNER III: Was that my first one? I know I made one, but --

Q. It was on 9.

HAROLD VARNER III: Yeah, it was good. I need more of them for sure.

I mean, I hit a great shot, and it worked out great, and I got lucky and the ball hit the hole. I got to walk off earlier than I thought I would.

Q. I know your wife and son are out here this week. Has that had a special effect on you and the way that you're playing knowing they're out here cheering you on?

HAROLD VARNER III: No, I really don't care if they're here or not, but I'd rather them be here. Last night Liam slept with me and he's sick, so I don't know, I like sleeping with the kid. I can't really explain it, because usually he sleeps through the night, so I don't really ever get that moment.

Yeah, it's great. I don't think it had anything to do with my golf. He wasn't pleased today when I picked him up, but it is what it is.

Q. Your game has really been clicking the last couple of weeks. It's been great to see, even in the majors, as well. Can you tell us what's happened? Have you found some type of secret?

HAROLD VARNER III: I think everyone knows that's been a part of the league, the beginning of the year I was kind of doing other stuff other than playing golf, and if you just put your head down, I think good things happen, and I think that's what's -- I want to play well. I don't think I'm terrible at golf. I want to see the RangeGoats beat the Aces, and there's only one way to do that, and that's with good golf.

On paper we're really good, and I'm tired of being good on paper.

Q. Kind of going back to the eagles, you've got 10 this season, which leads the league. Has there been something there? Have you been maybe a little bit more aggressive on the par-5s? You obviously have holed out some on some par-4s.

HAROLD VARNER III: That's what I think. Holing out never gets old, and it makes it a lot easier. No, nothing spectacular. You just want to have eagle looks, honestly, and if you do that -- I got lucky, I made some long ones in Tulsa, chipped in, but it's a part of it. I feel like I've been working at it.

I really wanted to play well last week and didn't quite have it, but like I said, I want to play well for the RangeGoats so that way you quit sucking. There's only one way to do that, and that's to play good golf. I think our team knows that.

It's a season for a reason, but we're kind of behind the 8-ball and we've got to get on it now.

Q. Going back to Talor's back-to-back wins, did it kind of lift the entire team in terms of emotionally --

HAROLD VARNER III: I would think so. If you were looking on the outside I would say so, as well.

The coolest thing for me is when he was playing well, it just motivated me to I want to contribute, I want to -- I'm tired of losing. Everyone is like oh, y'all should be good. That's the worst thing you can hear from a human is "y'all should be good," so that pisses me off. No, let's get to work and be good.

Q. Did you have any familiarity with this course before coming here, and if not, your impressions after the first round?

HAROLD VARNER III: No, zero. Good friend of mine, Ron Rivera and Stephanie, live 15 minutes away and I know they play here sometimes. That's about it.

Q. Your impressions after the first time?

HAROLD VARNER III: I would think pretty good. Just assumptions. Yeah, it's good. You've got to drive it well. You can get in some spots where you've got to chip it really well, and I was fortunate enough not to get there, and just hung in there and played some solid golf, and I think out here you do that, you're going to be rewarded. It's nice to be on a course like that.

Q. Bigger picture question, to have Brooks the reigning PGA champion with this tour and also how well the LIV guys did at the PGA overall, what does that do mental wise?

HAROLD VARNER III: I think Cam said it best at Augusta, that it's important for the LIV guys to show up. It's not about just getting in. I thought that was really good. It helped me just getting my mind right, like we're here to play well. It's kind of cool when you're not playing for yourself.

Q. This morning Billy Hurley asked me to ask you who was your favorite playing partner in your PGA debut. Might be a loaded question.

HAROLD VARNER III: It is a loaded question. I don't know who I played with. I know where I played. Did I play with Billy?

Q. I'm assuming you did.

HAROLD VARNER III: No way.

Q. Or he was just playing with me and now here I am.

HAROLD VARNER III: That's pretty good. I played unreal. Yeah, I remember what I shot and how I played bad on Sunday. But I don't remember who I played with. I remember it was so windy. Yeah, so I get I'll go with Billy. No, but Billy and I, we've had other conversations about life, and I think that's the most important thing about no matter what tour you're on, there's only so many good shots out there in your career and you enjoy the camaraderie and you enjoy going through life because it's not easy.

That's what really makes a human, first of all, and then a family.

Q. When you're not on the course, what are you going to live it up?

HAROLD VARNER III: Nothing I would speak of right here. That's the coolest thing. No one knows who I am. I can do whatever I want.

Q. I saw you a bunch last weekend at Oak Hill. What do you think of this golf course? I'm looking at the leaderboard and there's some pretty big numbers out there. It seemed like it was a tough test of golf today.

HAROLD VARNER III: I think it is a tough test. I just think I played better, and that's just sports. I love that about sports and I don't feel bad for the people that played bad because I've done that before, and that's what you strive to do. You strive to have a chance to win. Yeah, sorry. I think it's really good. Last week was way harder.

Q. The rough was no joke out there.

HAROLD VARNER III: Yeah.

Q. What's on the agenda tonight for the RangeGoats team? Do you have the chain now?

HAROLD VARNER III: I'm not wearing that chain. It's a long story, but I'm not wearing the chain. I'm going to hang out with my kid and we're going to eat in the area where we all eat together, and I'm looking forward to that. But I have to talk to you guys.