Michael Jordan Advises Harold Varner III to Decline 'Nuts' LIV Offer, Stay on PGA Tour
Harold Varner III opened with a 2-over 72 on Thursday at the U.S. Open.
John David Mercer/USA Today
BROOKLINE, Mass. — When Harold Varner III made a hellacious putt from 50 feet to win the Saudi International in January, it was the pinnacle of his professional career.
Or as Varner called it, “sick, awesome, wouldn’t change it for the world.”
The win put the 31-year-old quickly in the crosshairs of the war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, a position he has not embraced, but not shied away from either.
“I'm obviously not going,” Varner said matter-of-factly about leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. “I've spoken with (PGA Tour commissioner) Jay (Monahan), I've spoken with a lot of people I look up to and it just wasn't worth it to me for what it was worth. That's pretty simple.”
When you ask him about the offer he received from LIV Golf, Varner said it was “nuts,” and while he realizes you don’t see those types of offers come very often, and even though he has enjoyed his time in Saudi Arabia, he looked at what was best for his family and himself.
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One of the advisors that Varner utilized in making the tough decision was basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.
Varner has a business relationship with Jordan, wearing his "Jumpman" logo from head to toe, but the relationship has extended to a friendship as well, with both men having roots in North Carolina.
Jordan, who went to high school in Wilmington, North Carolina, was an All-American at the University of North Carolina and is now chairman of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, brings a lot to the table and Varner is more than happy to learn from the G.O.A.T.
“I think it helps because I'm sure he's had decisions like this long before I was even born,” said Varner, who grew up near Charlotte and played collegiately at East Carolina University. “But there's been a lot of people that I look up to that are obviously super wealthy and super successful and different places in the world.”
It's clear in talking to Varner that his conversations with Monahan have been frank and pointed.
Varner said that he is concerned that the two sides, the PGA Tour and the Saudis, are not working the situation out and suggests that anyone in a similar situation to what Monahan finds himself in should at least talk to the other side.
“Like, 'Hey, you're trying to take over, let’s talk this out,'” Varner said. “If you wanted to come to take over HV III (Varner’s foundation) I’d say like let’s talk this out.”
Driven a little differently than his peers, possibly because he is one of the few black players on Tour, Varner sees a class struggle inside the Tour, as well, that he believes could end badly if not addressed.
“It's very odd, when you only hear what the top players are saying, because there's people down there that are in the middle that didn't get an offer from LIV, that are very important for the PGA Tour. I think it'd be very important to hear their thoughts,” Varner said. “It's eye-opening to me, when I spoke with Keith Mitchell and Wyndham Clark last week (at the RBC Canadian Open), they were very pro about golf, what they thought golf was going to be and I was like, 'that's important, we need to hear that view.'”
Even with everything going on, Varner is excited by playing in only his third U.S. Open, first since 2018. Sitting at 2 over after a first-round 72, Varner is glad he could even tee it up on Thursday morning after being diagnosed with tonsillitis earlier in the week.
With just a front-nine practice round on Monday, Varner hasn’t seen The Country Club since and instead did his U.S. Open prep at the Mass General emergency room, where on Tuesday he was tested for COVID-19 and strep throat, before they determined it was tonsillitis that may include a cyst on his tonsil.
A combination of antibiotics and steroids have been prescribed with the hope of taking the swelling down so they can lance the possible cyst on Friday morning before his afternoon tee time.
Varner seems pragmatic about everything he discusses, be it his tonsillitis, the LIV offer or his desire to make the PGA Tour the best place to play.
More U.S. Open Coverage From Morning Read:
> One Round Down, Three to Go in Rory McIlroy’s Quest to End Major Drought
> What to Watch in Round 2: Phil, Rory and a Worthy Underdog
> One of Golf’s Most Connected Amateurs Has Much to Say on LIV Golf and None of It Positive
> Rory McIlroy Out to Another Fast Major Start, Shoots 67
> Phil Mickelson Warmly Greeted in U.S. Open First Round, But Struggles with 78
> U.S. Open Day 1: Live Scores, Updates
> DP World Tour Needs to Take a Stand One Way or Another on LIV Golf
> The 2022 U.S. Open Will Award a Record $17.5 Million Purse, $3.15 Million to Win
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