Harold Varner III made a short birdie putt at the 18th hole to win his first LIV event, prevailing at LIV Golf D.C. on Sunday, May 28, in Sterling, Va.
Varner’s final-round 68 at Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C. brought him to 12 under for the week, staving off Branden Grace of South Africa by a shot. Mito Pereira of Chile, the leader entering Sunday, settled for third at 10 under after a 71.
Varner, 32, won his first tournament since the Saudi International in February 2022.
“I’m getting better at golf,” Varner said. “That’s always been my goal. I think big things are coming.”
The winner of a $4 million check for first place, Varner said he will put much of it toward his charitable organization, the HV3 Foundation.
“I feel like I get to help a lot of people now, even more people, so that’s what kills me sometimes because it costs a lot of money to help a lot of people,” Varner said.
Pereira bogeyed each of his first two holes, opening the door for Varner to move back ahead. Varner followed his first birdie at No. 3 with his lone bogey of the day at No. 4, but he got one back with a birdie at the par-5 seventh.
Varner’s biggest shot of the day, though, was a hole-out for birdie from a greenside bunker at the par-4 11th. After Pereira got his third shot within 4 feet of the pin, Varner splashed his ball out and watched it roll straight downhill and into the cup.
Grace made a charge up the leaderboard with a bogey-free, 6–under 66. He started his day on the third hole and birdied two of his last three—Nos. 18 and 2—to get to 11 under. So, Varner was forced to birdie his final hole to avoid a playoff.
Torque GC won the team competition with a combined score of 27 under for the week. David Puig of Spain shot a 66 and Sebastian Munoz of Colombia had a 70 along with Pereira’s 71 to contribute to Sunday’s score.
Torque beat the all-South African Stinger GC, led by captain Louis Oosthuizen, Grace and Charl Schwartzel. Stinger finished at 24 under.
