Harold Varner III won his first professional tournament on US soil this weekend at the LIV Golf DC event held at Trump National in Northern Virginia, beating South Africa’s Branden Grace by one shot.
Varner III wins the event’s $4 million prize in front of a large, energetic crowd at Trump National.
Varner III did not secure a win on the PGA Tour before joining the LIV Tour. His most recent win was in Saudi Arabia at the 2022 Saudi International. He also won the Australian PGA Championship in 2016.
Varner began the final round in D.C. on Sunday one shot behind the lead, but shot a strong final round of 68 to finish at 12 under par. He holed out from a bunker on the 11th, before draining a 12-footer for birdie on the 15th hole that increased his lead to two.
“I knew exactly what I had to do [to win], when I had to do it, how I have to do it. I love that,” he said. “That’s why you play, that moment. You don’t get as many in golf, like those types of moments but that was mine,” he said, according to Golf Digest.
PGA Champion and 5-time major winner Brooks Koepka was back with the LIV Tour just 5 days after winning at Oak Hill last week, to the delight of fans in attendance.
Varner III’s team, the RangeGoats GC, finished third on the team leaderboard, so even though teammate Talor Gooch sprayed him with champagne on the 18th green for his win, there was no team celebration on the podium like there was after last month’s team victory in Singapore. The RangeGoats have now four consecutive podium finishes, including the third place in DC.
