Who is replacing Tiger Woods at the PGA?

Tiger Woods is out for the rest of this season. That is probably the most depressing sentence I will have to write this year. Despite Spieth's meltdown and Willett's win at The Masters, Dustin Johnson overcoming the USGA at the US Open, and Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson putting in the best final round dual in a major for decades, golf is a better place for everyone when Tiger Woods is playing. He brings a sense of drama and occasion that no other player quite manages. As a collective we have a great crop of current players, but lets face it, none of them come close to Tiger Woods in his pomp. Rather than mope about it though, we thought we'd tell you about the guy taking his spot at the PGA Championship. Say hello to Harold Varner III.

"Swooooooooooosh"

In August last year, Harold Varner III wrote himself into the golfing history books by becoming the first ever African-American to earn a PGA Tour Card through the Web.com Tour money list. However, doing so wasn’t as easy as it may sound. In true GolfPunk style he did things the hard way (probably just to raise a few more eyebrows, and see a few bacon sandwiches drop to the floor we suspect).

After starting the Web.com campaign by finishing second place in January, his consistency took a turn for the worse, meaning that going into the season finale Varner had missed three cuts in the six prior events. With a decent show at the WinCo Foods Portland Open, he finished T-47^th and held onto the all-important 25^th spot on the money list. A very happy Harold indeed.

Prior to the Portland Open, the 25 year-old caught our eye with some social media action too. Feeling the pressure, and obviously knowing the importance of his up-coming week, he took to twitter in search of a little advice from a certain African American who knows a fair bit about writing in the golfing history books…

Varner was referring to Tiger's win at Pumpkin Ridge in the 1996 U.S. Amateur. Unfortunately there's been no reply from Varner's golfing hero. 

"Look out Bubba, I'm coming for ya!"

Born in Akron, Ohio, Varner is a huge Carolina Panthers fan. And following the Panthers victory over the Arizona Cardinals on their way to the Super Bowl 50 final, at the Waste Management Phoenix Open he stirred up a fair bit of controversy, with plenty of ‘dabbing’. (Don’t worry, we don’t have a clue what it means either…)

This sort of behaviour at the busiest golf hole in the world shows the guy has some serious attitude. Showing real guts to get up and down after hitting his tee shot through the back of the green at the Par 3 16th. He’s certainly not one to shy away from the big occasions.

Varner III at this week's Phoenix Open, with a 35,000 strong crowd in the palm of his hand. Good work we say.

 The Panthers didn’t have the greatest weekend either, seen as though they lost 24 – 10 to the Denver Broncos. Better luck next time lads.

5 Key Things About Harold:

1. He was bought his set of golf clubs at the age of two, by his father.

2. His dream foursome would consist of Tiger, Nicklaus and No.1 all time GolfPunk Arnold Palmer (this kid has taste too).

3. His favourite all-time athlete is basketball legend LeBron James.

4. If he wasn’t playing golf, he would want to be “the best NBA player in the world.”

5. His favourite golf course is Pebble Beach. 

Harold hardly got the most gracious of golf swings in the world, but who cares? In a world of giants like Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson and Tony Finau, standing at only 5ft 8in, Varner doesn’t half give it a rip with an average driving distance of 305.6 yards, leaving him 22^nd on the PGA Tour driving distance standings.

Another impressive stat is that he holds the title of third best round of the season so far. Back in November, he posted a mouth watering round of 62 during his second round of the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, finishing the week at an impressive T-5^th alongside fellow American Scott Brown.

"Good heavens I holed a putt! Thank you lord...."

Starting the game at the age two after his father bought him his first set of clubs, he has all ways been a competitor, and an all-round sports nut. Since turning pro in 2012, it’s evident that Varner III has the golf game to really push on in the world golf rankings and crack that top 100.

But that’s not necessarily what we’re too bothered about yet. As with all sports, his ability will do the talking in time, and the consistency will come. Especially when he thinks that the biggest thrill in playing golf professionally is “competing in a tournament with a chance to win”.

But in the meantime Varner, keep doing things your own way. Keep on ‘dabbing’, keep on bombing drives, keep on doing it when it matters, keep giving the crowds something to talk about, and keep on giving us GolfPunks something to write about. If you do all that, I’m sure pretty sure you’ll be just fine. 

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