Harold Varner III Talks Michael Jordan And No Racism On PGA Tour

Harold Varner III penned a powerful, thoughtful letter last week in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

It was perhaps the best response by any athlete, a great perspective from the PGA Tour’s most visible black player.

Naturally Varner was on the media radar when he showed up in Fort Worth this week for the restart of the PGA Tour at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

There were questions to answer and he also stepped up to defend superstar Michael Jordan.  Varner is the brand ambassador for Jordan’s line of golf clothing and shoes.

“I’ve been helped by every type of race possible, and then it was all of a sudden, ‘Harold should say something because he’s black,’” Varner said on Tuesday.  “I don’t like when people are like, just because you’re black you know the answers to racism, so that letter was super good for me because it let me expose that even like you were telling white people they need to listen right now, black people need to listen right now, too, and we need to come together and figure out what it is.”

Varner was also asked about Jordan and how the former NBA great has handled the racial unrest over the last few days.

“The funniest part to me, though, is when you see he’s donating a lot of money, and people are like, oh, that’s nothing, just because he’s a billionaire. I mean, he can’t win,” said Varner, who played his collegiate golf at East Carolina University.  “I find that eye-opening to tell someone that they’re donating $100 million and it’s nothing to him.  Like that really pisses me off sometimes.”

Varner then made an impactful observation when he was asked about his letter on social media and how it may have impacted his relationship with fellow Tour players.

“I just have a hard time believing there’s like tons of racists on the PGA Tour, because I’m pretty good friends with a lot of people out here. If I was racist, I probably wouldn’t hang out with a black person,” he said. “That’s just my thoughts, and I’ve hung out with a good number of people out here.”

For the record, Varner is considered one of the most well-liked men on the PGA Tour.

Jon Rahm Gives His Thoughts On Ryder Cup Without Fans:

Jon Rahm, the world’s No. 2, cast his vote with Rory McIlroy as far as a fanless Ryder Cup.

Rahm’s in the field at the Charles Schwab this week and when play begins on Thursday, he’ll be in the feature group with McIlroy (No. 1) and Brooks Koepka (No. 3).

“If the Ryder Cup doesn’t have spectators or limited spectators, they shouldn’t do it. There’s no point. It’s the ultimate entertainment,” Rahm said. “It’s the one week where we don’t play for ourselves, we’re playing for Europe, we’re playing for the U.S. and we’re playing for the fans, and the fans make the event what it is.”

PGA Tour Will Have Halt In Play, Moment Of Silence For George Floyd:

The PGA Tour plans to observe a minute of silence, beginning with Thursday’s opening round at the Charles Schwab Challenge, to “amplify the voices and efforts underway to end systemic issues of racial and social injustices impacting our country.”

Tees times for this week’s Tour event at Colonial (Central Time) and the Korn Ferry Tour event at TPC Sawgrass (Eastern Time) will feature a time with no names attached at 8:46 a.m., local. Eight minutes, 46 seconds is the length of time prosecutors say George Floyd, was pinned to the ground under a Minneapolis police officer’s knee before he died on May 25.