CHARLOTTE, N.C. – There have been countless volumes written about Tiger Woods’ influence in golf and beyond. The well-documented “Tiger Effect” covers everything from TV ratings to the sale of golf balls following any of his numerous victories.
What’s not as quantifiable throughout Woods’ career is how he’s drawn players to golf who have been historically disenfranchised from the ancient game. Many examples of this reach are anecdotal, like Harold Varner III’s tale.
Like most stories involving Woods, Varner’s adulation of the 15-time major champion began long before he arrived on the PGA Tour - and it took a bad turn early.
“Pissed. So mad,” Varner laughed on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Varner was a 13-year-old in 2004 when Woods played his first Wells Fargo Championship. Now 28, Varner can point to the exact spot it happened, on the road between the Quail Hollow clubhouse and the player parking lot.
“I was like, ‘Dude, come on,’ and he walked right by me,” explained Varner of the time Woods brushed past him as he was attempting to secure a once-in-a-lifetime autograph.
Varner, who has become a regular practice-round partner of Woods, would later bring it up to his childhood hero and, like many things with the reinvented Tiger, it became a learning moment.
“I’ll never forget the first time we played together, we were walking up 18 and I was like, ‘Man, you didn’t sign my autograph,’” Varner said. “He’s like, ‘That’s probably why you’re here right now, you probably got mad.’ I was like, ‘You’re right.’”
Varner has become something of a sponge when it comes to these impromptu learning moments with Woods. Anyone who knows Varner is drawn to his outgoing personality and unlike many over the years who appreciated Tiger’s greatness from a distance he’s not shy or subdued when it comes to his interactions with Woods.
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This week’s Wells Fargo Championship is a perfect example of Varner’s unfiltered approach to his friendship with Woods. When the deadline to commit to this week’s event came and went last Friday without Woods’ name in the field, Varner didn’t hesitate to send him a text message.
“Really bummed. I was bummed. I gave him a good text, he hasn’t replied yet. But yeah, I’m pissed,” Varner laughed.
Part of that reaction was professional. Woods’ presence in a tournament has an immediate impact on ticket sales, one of those quantifiable elements of the “Tiger Effect,” and an equally obvious influence on atmosphere. Simply put, things are better when Woods is around.
But the biggest part of Varner’s disappointment was personal. He was scheduled to play a practice round with Woods this week and he’s become adept at taking advantage of any opportunity to pick the brain of arguably the game’s greatest player ever.
In his fourth season on Tour, Varner has 10 top-10 finishes but is still searching for his first victory. Having Woods as a sounding board may not help him crack that victory barrier, but if there is a secret sauce he figures Tiger would be the one who would know it.
“If I never won a tournament, I’d be all right. I just think he’s really good at what he does. I don’t care how many times he wins, I’m still going to treat him as Tiger,” Varner said. “I just want to be really good at golf, so I ask him everything under the sun. That’s why I wanted to get close to him.”
For Varner, the “Tiger Effect” doesn’t need to be dissected. In a game that trends predominantly white, Varner views Woods’ career through an opportunistic lens. Winning is always the ultimate goal but the path Woods blazed is about much more than the countless accolades in his biography.
“He’s made it easy for a black golfer to play. When you guys ask questions about being black, he’s always answered them with the utmost respect and it’s made it easy for me, so I always thank him for that,” Varner said. “Things like that go a long way in my life. So yeah, I want to be close to that guy. I want to know how he became the best golfer to ever play.”
Perhaps Varner would have moved along his path to the Tour without Woods’ influence, but he’ll happily tell you with his ever-present smile and infectious laugh that he wouldn’t be the player he is today without Tiger’s legacy. He’s become a better player and a better person because of the duo’s relationship that began when an autograph-seeking fan received a stiff-arm from a player in a rush.
“No, I never got [Woods’ autograph],” Varner laughed.
But he’s gotten so much more.