{"id":1185452,"date":"2020-06-11T18:41:32","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T22:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1185452"},"modified":"2020-06-11T18:41:33","modified_gmt":"2020-06-11T22:41:33","slug":"harold-varner-iii-leads-pga-tours-charles-schwab-challenge-after-emotional-few-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/harold-varner-iii-leads-pga-tours-charles-schwab-challenge-after-emotional-few-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"Harold Varner III Leads PGA Tour's Charles Schwab Challenge After Emotional Few Weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After a three-month hiatus due to the pandemic, the PGA Tour<\/a> finally returned to action on Thursday at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas. There were some familiar golfers<\/a> atop the leaderboard after day one, but one name, in particular, stood out not only for his solid round of golf, but for his active role in addressing racial injustice in the last few weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harold Varner used George Floyd as inspiration in opening-round 63<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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PGA Tour player Harold Varner III | Photo by Ronald Martinez\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

RELATED: <\/strong>3 Monster Groups to Watch at the PGA Tour\u2019s Charles Schwab Challenge<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harold Varner III, one of a handful of black players on the PGA Tour, fired an opening-round 63 Thursday at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth and sat tied atop the leaderboard with Justin Rose at seven-under.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Varner hit all 18 greens in his round en route to his first-round score, which was just one shot off his career-best round back in 2016. Varner's performance was a dramatic improvement from his only other appearance at Colonial in 2017, where he shot 73-75 and missed the cut. In his post-round interview, Varner said while he was focused on golf, he knew he was playing for something bigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I didn't think about it when I got out there because I got in a zone. But the platform I have is through golf, so playing well is a part of that, and you have to focus on the most important thing, and that's playing well. Just goes to show you life is precious, and you take every day for what it is.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harold Varner vocal in speaking out on racial injustice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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There is a lot of of beauty and love in this world. I pray for equality & social justice as we all so desperately deserve that in this day and age. I pray for humanity even more because regardless of color, WE need each other to make that change. Stay safe. Love you guys \u270a\ud83c\udfff\u270a\ud83c\udffd\u270a\ud83c\udffb pic.twitter.com\/LrFEff94IF<\/a><\/p>— Harold Varner III (@HV3_Golf) June 1, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote>