Varner takes one-shot lead at Colonial
FORT WORTH, Texas — One spectator was stopped after trying to sneak into Colonial on Friday, and perhaps he was onto something with all the birdies from Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth and the great recovery of Harold Varner III.
If the opening round of the Charles Schwab Challenge felt like the first day of school, players quickly adjusted to the quiet environment as the PGA Tour tries to restart from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The leaderboard is a ‘who’s who’ of golf right now,” McIlroy said after a 63, with a bogey on the last hole, that left him two behind Varner among the early starters. “I’m just happy to be in the mix.”
So is Varner, more prominent that ever because of such thoughtful words on racial injustice coming from one of four players of black heritage on the PGA Tour.
Varner’s opening tee shot at No. 10 went through the trees and onto the bridge leading to a one-shot penalty, and three putts from 50 feet gave him a triple bogey to start the second round. He answered with eight birdies — one of them right after the 8:46 a.m. moment of silence as a tribute to the death of George Floyd.
He wound up with a 66 for a one-shot lead over Spieth.
Dating to the ShotLink era in 2003, it was the lowest score on the PGA Tour by a player who began his round with a triple bogey. He was at 11-under 129, the lowest 36-hole score of his career.
Varner was in the gym Thursday during the moment of silence, which the tour is doing every day at 8:46 a.m. This time he had a 10-foot birdie chance on the par-3 16th when he heard the three short blasts from the horn to stop play.
“I just wanted to make that putt just to get me back to even (for the round),” Varner said. “I was really just focused on playing some good golf. It’s pretty cool that the tour is doing that, but when you’re out there, you’re just so in the moment. Well, I was, anyway. I don’t know, man, I was just trying to make a birdie.”