Crowd favorite golfer Harold Varner III has lost the Australian Open finals against Australian golfer Nathan Holman. Harold Varner was looking forward to being the only golfer from African-American ethnicity other than Tiger Woods to win an Australian PGA championship. However, faith didn't smile on the American on the final day of play.
Harold Varner had produced a sizzling six under 66 to hold the lead before the final day. Equally good performance from the eventual winner Nathan Holman and South African Dylan Freitelli resulted in a three way tie between them. Varner could have sealed his victory with two birdies putt from the regulation holes. But unfortunately, he missed it. This meant the golfer lost a golden chance to register a first major PGA tour victory.
Eventual winner Nathan Holman shot a final-round 1-over 73 while Frittelli and Varner, who each had 75s, finished with even-par totals of 288 on a tough, wind-swept Royal Pines resort course. Holman led by two strokes but bogeyed his final two holes. Varner's birdie attempt on 18, which would have given him the win in regulation, slid just wide of the cup.
“I just hate losing. I had a really good opportunity but I’m going to be alright. I’m okay. I’ll be right once I get some beer or something. I’m going to find a way to re-group. I bogeyed two par fives. You can’t bogey par fives. Right now I feel like I didn’t get the job done but in five minutes from now, I’ll be ok. What’s the big deal? I’m going to hop on a plane tomorrow and hug my parents”, the golfer said displaying his positive attitude after the disappointing loss.
After holding a lead before the first day, Harold Varner was expected to win national dominance in Australian PGA championship. Since 1999, no golfer outside of an Australia has won the championship. The record seems to be unbroken, at least until next year now.
Harold Varner apologized to his fan for letting them down through his Twitter account.
He tweeted “It has been a great year. Thank you for all you support. I will try to keep up with your expectations” through his handle @HV3_golf.
At just 25 years of age, Varner is the only African American to earn his place in PGA tour through web.com tour. He finished at 25th position in previous years’ tour, which earned him automatic spot in the PGA tour. He is quickly taking the place of Tiger Woods as the most popular golfer in the USA.
Harold Varner III has a laid back attitude and is down to earth. With a friendly personality, he is quickly establishing himself as a fan favorite in PGA tours. He also claims he is playing golf because he thinks it is fun, not because of the money the sports offers.