VARNER’S AN ACE NOW – AND THAT MEANS CHANGING HIS TUNE

Golf fans and media appreciate Harold Varner III because he always speaks his mind. On Aug. 4, after shooting a bogey-free 65 at LIV Golf Greenbrier, Varner was asked a post-round question by someone wearing a 4Aces GC cap.

Looking at his inquisitor, part of his response included this line: “I hate the Aces.”

It was all in good fun, especially since Varner was then a member of RangeGoats GC, one of the teams seeking to knock off LIV Golf’s most successful team in the first two years of competition. He said it with an underlying aspect of admiration in his own very unique Harold way.

Then, of course, came last week.

4Aces Captain Dustin Johnson made a big roster move, trading Peter Uihlein for … Harold Varner III. That 4Aces cap that HV3 detested will now be one he must wear in 2024.

And few had forgotten what he said four months earlier.

“Yeah, I’m getting slack for that right now,” Varner said a few days after the trade.

But that’s the Aces. And that’s Varner. And really, if you think about it, he’s a perfect fit for a lineup that shoots from the hip and backs it up with a win-only mentality.

DJ and Patrick Reed as a good a 1-2 bunch on any LIV team, and Varner is a proven LIV winner, taking his first individual title in 2023 at DC.

Between Varner and Pat Perez, who re-signed with the team after entering the offseason as a free agent, the Aces have two gritty players who hold back nothing. They are Must-Hear TV – although Varner said he’s working on reducing the saltier parts of his on-air verbal outbursts.

“I’m trying to do better because I’m having another kid,” he said.

Even if the chatter turns from R-rated to PG, the determination for winning will not disappear.

While it may seem like a can’t-beat-‘em-so-join-‘em move from Varner’s perspective, the trade was not something that he was actively seeking.

Varner’s closest friend on the RangeGoats, LIV Golf 2023 Individual Champion Talor Gooch, had the opportunity to move to Smash GC. So RangeGoats Captain Bubba Watson opted to explore wholesale changes in his lineup. He acquired Matthew Wolff in exchange for Gooch, and one of Wolff’s close friends is Peter Uihlein, one of the 4Aces in 2023.

Uihlein has been one of LIV Golf’s most productive players in the first two years, and the exchange for Varner seemed like a solid, equitable swap, given all the intangibles in play. Of course, Watson needed to get the thumbs-up from Varner. So, he made a call.

The only trouble? Varner was not able to do much talking himself, having had his tonsils recently taken out. It would take more than three weeks before Varner felt like himself again.

“It was an interesting process, and I wasn’t really a part of it, to be honest,” Varner said. “It’s kind of is what it is. An opportunity came up, and when Bubba called, I said, yeah, I’d be interested in doing that.

“So, no hard feelings with the RangeGoats or anything like that. It’s part of all this, it’s new for golf.”

And so, sure, maybe he hated the Aces back then when he was trying to chase them down. But now he goes to a high-profile team with only one mission – win trophies. Varner won one individually and one as a team. He expects more as a member of the 4Aces, who finished a disappointing fourth in their 2023 Team Championship defense in Miami.

In some ways, the move may serve as the last piece of the puzzle needed to turn Varner’s already successful career into a great one.

“If I play good, the team stuff and all that other stuff will take care of itself,” Varner said. “I love competing. I love having the chance to win. To do that, I just need to focus and do my job. I’ve been doing that a little bit, so I want to get on it. I’m ready to compete, to be honest with you.”

He’s ready to be an Ace. He and Perez have played many rounds together, going back to their PGA Tour days when they were in the same category and often paired together. Plus, their caddies are close.

And thanks to his status on LIV, he and Reed played together a fair amount recently. They also played practice rounds during the Masters.

Suffice to say, HV3 will fit in.

“I think we’ll have the loudest team, that’s for sure,” he said with a laugh. “I think it’s going to be very dog-eat-dog, which is good. I don’t know actually how different things will be, but I think it’ll be more of a let’s-just go-and-play vibe, which is totally cool with me.

“On the RangeGoats, it’s very family-oriented, a little different. But I guarantee you, it turns into a family whenever you spend as much time with someone like we do. You get to know people on a deeper level other than how much they’ve won or whatever the stuff you see on the outside.”

And at the end of the day, for HV3, it’s all about winning. As a RangeGoat, he was in the pursuit pack. Now he’s a member of the 4Aces, which means a much bigger target on the back.

The Aces were not able to repeat in 2023. Adding Varner should certainly rattle the cages. The desire is there. The attitude is there. And the hate is gone.

HV3 loves the Aces now.

He’ll love them even more if they spend Sundays at the top of the podium, lifting trophies and popping celebratory bottles of champagne.