Varner fights back with eight birdies
Harold Varner III took his place in history in the PGA Tour’s technology era, all because of a triple bogey yesterday.
Jordan Spieth had his lowest 36-hole score in four years. Rory McIlroy shot 63 with a bogey on his last hole. The strongest field of the year in golf’s return to competition produced an All-Star leaderboard at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Forth Worth, Texas.
No wonder a fan tried to sneak into Colonial club. There was plenty to see.
The man didn’t get too see much before course officials noticed someone looking out of place with no credentials. He was sent packing.
There are still no spectators, making Colonial sound more like a library. And while players are getting accustomed to birdies and eagles greeted with silence, it figures to take on another dimension as the stakes get higher.
‘‘It’s tough to get adrenaline going,’’ US Open champion Gary Woodland said after a 67 left him three shots behind. ‘‘I think you can get a little bit more of that this weekend getting in the hunt and get those juices flowing, but it is different without a crowd.
‘‘You’ve got to kind of get that adrenaline going yourself.’’
Varner had plenty of juices flowing after his first tee shot on No 10 went onto a bridge, led to a one-shot penalty, and eventually a triple bogey that quickly knocked him out of a share of the lead. No worries. He answered with eight birdies and a place in the record book with a 66.
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.
‘‘Not the start I wanted, but it’s just a part of golf,’’ Varner said.
‘‘If I would have tripled the last, it would have added up to the same. It’s a great opportunity going into the weekend.’’
One of four PGA Tour players of black heritage, Varner was in the gym on Friday during the moment of silence, which the tour is doing every day at 8:46am as a tribute to George Floyd, and a time of reflection over racial injustice and civil unrest.
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,’’ 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.’’
He led by one over Spieth, who shot 65 despite a four-putt double bogey, and Bryson DeChambeau (65).
Collin Morikawa (67) and Xander Schauffele (66) joined McIlroy at 9-under 131, with Justin Thomas (68) and Justin Rose (69) another shot back.
‘‘Watching from afar, this is a golf course that’s always let the best players rise to the top,’’ said McIlroy, two shots behind Varner going into the weekend.
Spieth is mired in a slump that has kept him winless since the the 2017 British Open, shortly before his 24th birthday.
If golf felt like it was slowly getting back to normal, the same could be said for Spieth.
More than just the putts he was making, it was the fairways Spieth kept hitting, along with one exquisite chip that led to a 65. His only wobble was a four-putt from 30 feet on the third hole, with the last three putts from the 3-foot range.