Harold Varner III Has the Masters in His Sights

Varner's victory at the PIF Saudi International put him inside the top 50 in the world, which would earn him an invitation to compete at Augusta National for the first time.

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — With the West Coast swing ending this week after a winner is crowned at the Genesis Invitational, the focus will be squarely on the Masters as the Florida swing starts.

A Masters invitation is the most coveted by the players and many will do whatever is necessary to grab a spot in the select field.

For Harold Varner III, his trip to Saudi Arabia two weeks ago had a lot to do with the goal of playing in his first Masters. The field at the PIF Saudi International was much stronger than the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which translates to more world ranking points. Varner decided to go halfway across the globe chasing points.

A dramatic win catapulted Varner from No. 99 to No. 45 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is now No. 47 and hoping to improve that ranking this week at the Genesis Invitational. It’s the first time in his career that he has been inside the top 50, which puts him on the path to his first Masters if he can stay above the line of demarcation until the week before Augusta.

“I don’t at all,” Varner said when asked if he feels like a poster child for the Saudi International after his win. “I just think I had a great opportunity to do something, and it worked out in my favor. Obviously, I have a chance to get into Augusta and that’s always been the goal, I want to play there I want to play in the big events.”

A PGA Tour full-timer since 2016, Varner is one of the most unlikely players to drive the needle from a fan perspective, with his best finish a 2nd at the RBC Heritage last year. Yet, when he made eagle from off the green on the 72nd hole, Varner became a celebrity and references to his career will be tied to his win in Saudi.

Varner said he’s committed to defending his victory next year even with all the noise swirling around about the PGA Tour and the potential Saudi-funded golf league that is being driven by Greg Norman and LIV Golf Investments.

While in Saudi, Varner was not recruited to join the new league and he is an interested observer.

“It’s an interesting dynamic, I’m intrigued to see what’s going to happen in the next couple of weeks,” Varner said of possibly the other shoe dropping with the Saudi-backed initiative outlining more of its plans, including players who may make the jump to the new league.

“I wish it would quit being played out in the media like this war. I think it should be more like, we’re going to do it or we’re not going to do it.”

A former Player Advisory Council member, Varner doesn’t feel like an owner or shareholder in the PGA Tour. Even as a PAC member, he didn’t believe his opinion was necessarily valued or that had a say. 

“It’s not how I feel, that’s just how it works,” Varner said of how differing opinions of the PAC members are treated at the PGA Tour Policy Board level. “It is what it is, that’s how businesses work.”

Yet, if asked, Varner would like to be on the Policy Board, believing his viewpoint as one of the few black players on the PGA Tour might lend a different perspective.

“I think I’d bring a lot to the table,” Varner said of joining the board. “There’s a difference of wanting to be on the board and asking to be on the board.”