Harold Varner Opens His Tour Card-Carrying Days With A 65

Harold Varner III is the first black player to earn a PGA Tour card on the Web.com Tour and the most prominent of African American descent since Tiger Woods. While Varner has played PGA Tour events, opening with a 65 and T3 start at the Frys.com Open is still noteworthy.

Adam Schupak profiled Varner in this week's Golfweek.

To those who say the PGA Tour lacks color, meet rookie Harold Varner III, the first black player to earn a Tour card on the Web.com Tour. By virtue of finishing 25th on the regular-season money list, he joins Tiger Woods and doubles the number of blacks on Tour. But Varner, 25, said he was raised color blind and his stock response to such inquiries about golf and race is to declare that he doesn’t want to be the best black golfer; he just wants to be the best golfer.

“He doesn’t want to carry a torch,” said Bruce Sudderth, Varner’s teacher and golf pro emeritus at Gaston Country Club in Gastonia, N.C. “He just wants to be known as Harold.”

Bob Harig profiled Varner at the start of the season-opening week and included this:

Varner has never met Woods, who was committed to play the Frys.com Open until back surgery last month forced him to cancel all of his golf tournament plans for the rest of the year.

Varner expects to meet him at some point during his rookie year on tour, when his immediate  goals will be more about securing his playing privileges for another year than tackling golf's social issues. When the subject has come up in the past, Woods typically cited a lack of caddie programs and, of course, funding.