Varner makes history in finale

Falters to an 81 in final grouping

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — After getting supportive messages from Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan a night earlier, Harold Varner III could not have had a better start to the final round of the 101st PGA Championship.

Varner, 28, a journeyman pro, birdied the first hole at Bethpage Black playing in the final pairing to draw within five strokes of eventual champion Brooks Koepka, who bogeyed the hole.

It was the best thing to happen to Varner Sunday.

Varner, the 174th-ranked player in the world, shot an 11-over-par 81 and went from sole possession of second place to finishing tied for 36th at 6 over.

It marked the first time a player in the final pairing on the final day shot in the 80s.

“Man, it’s just rough. It was hard. It was really hard,” said Varner, whose only win was in the 2017 Australian PGA championship. “I just didn’t play well enough. It was a great experience. I’m going to get a lot better. It’s just a hard golf course. I don’t know, I don’t know. It’s good.”

Varner finished with one birdie, three double bogeys, six bogeys and eight pars.

His first double came at the par-3 second. He missed the green, chipped to 11 feet and three-putted.

The worst hole was the par-5, 524-yard four. His 324yard tee shot landed in stalklike grass. His second went sideways into the woods, and the ball was lost. Even Koepka came to help, but to no avail.

“I had about 30 seconds left,” Varner said of the search. “I didn’t think we were going to find it anyways. I didn’t really look for my golf ball. I thought I was screwed.”

Varner had to return to the native area and eventually took a 7.

Ace, deuce

Lucas Bjerregaard, 27, of Denmark, recorded an ace with a 6-iron on the par-3 206yard 17th in the final round of the tournament. The ball took one hop and then landed in the cup .

Bjerregaard pulled his ball out of the hole and tossed it into the crowd.

Bjerregaard had played No. 17 at 2 over in the first three rounds. Even with the hole in one, he was 1 over for the tournament, 13 strokes behind runaway leader Brooks Koepka.

There have been 42 holes in one in the PGA Championship since 1970.

Bjerregaard’s playing partner, Lucas Glover, put his tee shot in the bunker. But he holed out from there for a birdie.