{"id":20897,"date":"2021-06-16T07:05:07","date_gmt":"2021-06-16T12:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=20897"},"modified":"2021-06-16T07:05:07","modified_gmt":"2021-06-16T12:05:07","slug":"michael-jordan-texted-harold-varner-iii-with-an-offer-to-be-just-the-second-jordan-brand-golfer-and-had-a-deal-2-days-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=20897","title":{"rendered":"Michael Jordan texted Harold Varner III with an offer to be just the second Jordan Brand golfer and had a deal 2 days later"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Harold Varner III understands the position he\u2019s in on PGA Tour<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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Harold Varner III plays his shot from the fifth tee during the third round of The Players Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC at Sawgrass on May 12 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl <\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. \u2014 It\u2019s just after 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning, just less than 24 hours before Harold Varner III<\/a> is scheduled to tee off in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. Traffic getting to the course on this rainy day has already reached levels so nightmarish that Tiger Woods offered, during his news conference, that there\u2019s a possibility a golfer might miss his tee time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If Varner\u2019s worried or flustered the day before playing in his second U.S. Open, he\u2019s definitely not showing it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m literally laying in bed,\u201d the 27-year-old Varner says as he answers the phone, his Southern drawl revealing his childhood roots being raised in Gastonia, North Carolina. \u201cHow do I feel going into the U.S. Open? I feel pretty relaxed.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Being \u201crelaxed\u201d just wasn\u2019t the case when Varner played the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, as an alternate. To understand why Varner might have been a bit uptight, you have to consider the two-year journey that led to his very first PGA event.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2011, Varner won the North Carolina Amateur Championship.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2012, Varner earned the Conference USA Player of the Year award, capping a great college career at East Carolina University.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2013, Varner had just turned pro with the desire to reach the PGA Tour when he was named a U.S. Open alternate. After hearing several players had dropped out, he drove to Pennsylvania and got word along the way that he had gotten into the field. Weeks after playing on the eGolf Tour, Varner was in a tournament with Woods, Phil Mickelson and the other greats of the game.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t make the cut.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI was really nervous and didn\u2019t know what to expect,\u201d Varner said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know how to play an Open. I was used to just being aggressive, hitting my driver everywhere and just moving fast. I learned that you don\u2019t really need that.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Five years later, Varner finds himself in a better place to compete at the U.S. Open. He\u2019s been a regular on the PGA Tour since 2015, the first African-American golfer to advance to the PGA Tour from the Web.com Tour. Just last month he had a seventh-place finish at The Players Championship at TPC at Sawgrass, earning Sunday TV time as he battled for contention.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a lot more experienced now, and I have a better approach to the game,\u201d Varner said. \u201cI\u2019m going into this knowing it\u2019s going to be hard, and instead of just going out and hitting the ball, I have to use my head to try to figure the course out.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Varner had to try to figure it out early, as he teed off at 6:45 a.m. on Thursday with the first group of the tournament. He shot a 79 and was 9-over-par heading into his 12:30 p.m. tee time on Friday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was 22 years ago that Woods debuted on the PGA Tour, winning the first of his 14 major events within a year. His dominance in golf was expected to inspire an increase in African-American golfers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That didn\u2019t happen. Varner is the only African-American to play on the PGA Tour since Woods turned pro.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The two met for the first time this year, giving Varner a chance to spend time with the player he looked up to as a kid.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not because Woods was black.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause he was dominant,\u201d Varner said. \u201cHe beat everybody and just had this mental toughness about him.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Varner understands that some see him as a novelty on tour, and that black fans might follow him around a course during his rounds simply because of his skin color.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI get asked about color all the time, but I want to help and reach out to not just black fans but all fans,\u201d Varner said. \u201cI do understand that I\u2019m in an awesome position to help black kids, but I want to help all kids. I want to be able to relate and to help all people in society that we live in, especially at a time where this is so much dividing us.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The trait in relating to a wide spectrum of people is something that Varner appreciates about Woods.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Both have similar backgrounds: Woods was introduced to the sport by his dad, Earl, while Varner\u2019s dad, Harold Varner Jr., placed a golf club in his son\u2019s hands at a young age.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Varner was a kid, his parents spent $100 on a pass that allowed him to play as much golf as he wanted. Varner\u2019s father, a car salesman, would drop him off at the golf course while on his way to work. And either Varner\u2019s mother or father would pick him up at night.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s all I would do all day, play golf, from June 1st to September 1st,\u201d Varner said. \u201cPlaying that much really allowed me to realize that this is something I could be good at.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eventually Varner would begin playing regularly with a group called the Par Busters, a longtime Charlotte, North Carolina-based group of African-American golfers. Varner laughs about the many hours he spent being the only kid playing regularly with the adult group.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I just felt like I was one of the guys \u2014 without the drinking and stuff that goes on at the golf course,\u201d Varner said. \u201cThose guys looked after me. They fed me on the course, and they often made sure I got home.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest lesson I got from them: to just have fun. That\u2019s the reason why they played golf, to get out with their friends, talk some smack and have fun.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Of course, Varner also wants to win. While he\u2019s yet to win a title on the PGA Tour, Varner did win the Australian PGA Championship in 2016. He\u2019s only the second American to win the Australian PGA title, joining Hale Irwin, who won it in 1978.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was huge in terms of thinking, \u2018OK, I can do this on this level,\u2019 \u201d Varner said of the win in Australia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And huge in terms of Varner showcasing his development from his first U.S. Open, where he entered with the attitude of pulling out his driver and crushing every shot. Varner\u2019s game is more fine-tuned entering this year\u2019s tournament, with the help of some advice he took from Woods just a month ago.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI asked him about how he focuses with so much going on around him, and he said it\u2019s like when you read a book with the TV and you can hear the noise in the background, but you don\u2019t know what\u2019s being said,\u201d Varner said. \u201cHe told me to use that on the golf course: to hear the noise, but just focus on my book, my game. It was great advice.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

For Varner, the time has come to see if that advice, and the advances in his game, can carry him into the weekend in his second opportunity at the U.S. Open.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been playing well and with confidence, and that\u2019s a big difference from the first time I played the U.S. Open,\u201d Varner said. \u201cAs a kid, I always wanted to be in a situation where I\u2019m competing against the best people. I\u2019m here now, and I\u2019m enjoying the opportunity.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Harold Varner III<\/h1>\n
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Harold Varner III<\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
\"HaroldVarneriiigolfer.jpg\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Personal information<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Nickname<\/b><\/th>\nHV3<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Born<\/b><\/th>\nAugust 15, 1990 (age\u00a030)<\/span>
\nAkron, Ohio<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Height<\/b><\/th>\n5\u00a0ft 9\u00a0in (1.75\u00a0m)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weight<\/b><\/th>\n165\u00a0lb (75\u00a0kg; 11.8\u00a0st)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nationality<\/b><\/th>\n\"\"\u00a0<\/span>United States<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Residence<\/b><\/th>\nJacksonville Beach, Florida<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Career<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
College<\/b><\/th>\nEast Carolina University<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Turned professional<\/b><\/th>\n2012<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Current tour(s)<\/b><\/th>\nPGA Tour<\/a>
\nEuropean Tour<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Former tour(s)<\/b><\/th>\nWeb.com Tour<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Professional wins<\/b><\/th>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Highest ranking<\/a><\/b><\/th>\n73 (April 18, 2021)[1]<\/a><\/sup>
\n(as of June 13, 2021)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Number of wins by tour<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
European Tour<\/th>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PGA Tour of Australasia<\/th>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Best results in major championships<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Masters Tournament<\/a><\/th>\nDNP<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PGA Championship<\/a><\/th>\nT29: 2020<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
U.S. Open<\/a><\/th>\nCUT: 2013, 2018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Open Championship<\/a><\/th>\nT66: 2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Harold Varner III<\/b> (born August 15, 1990) is an American professional golfer<\/a> who plays on the PGA Tour. Despite his smaller stature, Varner is one of the longer drivers on tour. Varner is one of just a handful of African-American PGA Tour golfers. He won the Australian PGA Championship<\/a> in December 2016.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Michael Jordan texted Harold Varner III with an offer to be just the second Jordan Brand golfer and had a deal 2 days later<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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\"Harold<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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