Harold Varner is slated to tee off in the first round of the 2023 Masters Tournament Thursday at 12:12 PM ET, joining the likes of Sepp Straka and Kyoung-Hoon Lee.
Varner also joins other LIV golfers in making the transition to the PGA Tour after being in contention for the majority of last season’s Masters Tournament.
The issues between LIV Golf and the PGA are now by well known. The Saudi-backed upstart league poached a ton of big name PGA golfers over the past couple years. And while it is not seeing success on a TV ratings perspective, LIV still continues to toss its money around.
In shocking fashion, Varner just recently put LIV Golf and its backers on absolute blast shortly before teeing off in Augusta.
“They’re full of s—; they’re growing their pockets. I tell them all the time, all of them: You didn’t come here to f—ing grow the f—ing game,” Harold Varner on LIV Golf’s suggestion that it is trying to grow the game.
This is in response to LIV chief executive Greg Norman indicating that the upstart league is all about growing the game internationally, not greed.
For Harold Varner, this week’s appearance at The Masters Tournament could be his last. He only received an invite after finishing last season ranked in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings. That isn’t the case this season and won’t be moving forward due to new PGA rules preventing LIV golfers from being included in the rankings.
Varner also made it clear that his appearance this week in Georgia is not about taking home the Green Jacket. Rather, it’s to have a shot at the $15 million total purse for the major.
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“These f—ers aren’t mad. They’re just mad that you’re f—ing with their money. I think some people are jealous, and that’s just the way it is,” Varner said from Augusta this week.
If Varner seems mad, that’s because his is. But his verbal jabs at both LIV Golf and the PGA Tour is centered on growing up poor. He’s now all about the money and providing for his family.
Last year saw Varner in contention through the first two rounds before falling off. He ultimately finished 23rd, pocketing $138,250.00 in the process.
“Everyone says money doesn’t make you happy. It doesn’t. It hasn’t made me happy. It’s made me capable,” Varner says.
It will be interesting to see how Harold Varner and his fellow LIV golfers are received once The Masters Tournament gets going on Thursday. What we do know is that he isn’t in it to appease either faction. At the very least, this makes Varner genuine.