photo by Keyur Khamar\/PGA TOUR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhile free Jordans excite him, he\u2019s never been a material guy and instead cherishes the relationships he\u2019s established with those within the brand more than any of the many boxes he\u2019s shipped seasonally. He’s in elite compnay, too, as Varner is Jordan Brand\u2019s second golf signing in the brand\u2019s history following Keegan Bradley who was signed in 2014.<\/p>\n
You would expect this to carry some added form of pressure as the brand has already established itself in basketball, baseball, football, and even boxing. However, speak with Varner about this and it\u2019s easy to see why Jordan picked him as an ambassador. His only focus is on the next swing, continuing to improve and helping make the game more accessible to more youth.<\/p>\n
Ahead of this week\u2019s Players Championship where he finished tied for seventh place last year, Varner spoke with us on his familiarity with the course, signing with Jordan Brand, his relationship with the brand’s namesake and how he\u2019s working to make the game of golf accessible to more youth.<\/p>\nphoto by Keyur Khamar\/PGA TOUR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSnkrs Day: It’s officially been a year now that you’ve been with Jordan Brand. How would you describe the relationship? <\/strong><\/p>\nHVIII: <\/strong>It\u2019s been unbelievable and it\u2019s pretty cool. Obviously, the relationship is really good. I\u2019ve met some awesome people, including MJ himself. I\u2019ve been able to bounce things off of him. Overall, it has just been fantastic \u2013 I can\u2019t say enough about it.<\/p>\nWhat was really cool is how I got set up with them. MJ is really close with the COO of the Hornets, Fred Whitfield, and he\u2019s always been really good to me. I helped out with an event he had, came back and spoke to some of the kids. Fred pretty much set everything up and pitched the idea to MJ and when MJ wants something, he normally gets it done.<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: With golf still being somewhat new to the brand compared to the other categories, have they been receptive to any ideas you\u2019ve had or has everything they\u2019ve provided been pretty good?<\/strong><\/p>\nHVIII:<\/strong> What they provide has been pretty good. I\u2019ve needed some different colors because you know the classic Jordan colors are North Carolina blue and the Chicago Bulls red. My favorite color is purple because I went to East Carolina and they\u2019ve been really good about that. The actual fit of the shirts are unbelievable. It\u2019s been really cool and it\u2019s nice to have options. If you don\u2019t like something you just tell them how you feel.<\/p>\nFor instance, I was wearing a shoe that I thought fit fine, but sometimes I would have a blister on my toe. When I went out to Portland, they were like, \u201cLet’s get your foot sized.\u201d I tried on different shoes, got my foot measured and it turns out I just needed a bigger shoe. Just things like that. I\u2019m sure that every company can do that, but they rock when it comes to things like that.<\/p>\nphoto by Keyur Khamar\/PGA TOUR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSnkrs Day: Can you describe your reaction when you received that first Jordan shipment?<\/strong><\/p>\nHVII: <\/strong>It was pretty cool. I\u2019m not really into material things like that. I mean it\u2019s cool to be a part of the brand, but the relationship matters way more to me and that\u2019s unbelievable.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve also been able to help a lot of people. At the end of the year, the shoes that I\u2019ll have, I give them to my manager and he takes them to the high school we went to and we look out for the kids that have done really well.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been weird, though, and it shows how different the world was when I was growing up. One of the kid’s mom thought he stole the shoes. If I would have come home with a new pair of shoes, my mom would have been like, \u201cThat\u2019s awesome!\u201d — especially if I explained to her how I got them. My goal is just to help kids who want to do well and be in sports.<\/p>\n
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Snkrs Day: You’ll be wearing the Concords for THE PLAYERS\u00a0Championship, but I do know your favorite Air Jordan is the 3. What is it about that shoe that resonates for you the most out of all of them?<\/strong><\/p>\nHVIII: <\/strong>The biggest thing for me is that it\u2019s a shoe that I like and can wear on and off the course. Obviously, I\u2019m the third and it was the first shoe I wore as a Jordan athlete. It\u2019s still my favorite. The Concord is really good, but the actual shoe is kind of big. It makes my foot look really big and I\u2019m already kind of short.<\/p>\nSnkrs Day: How has it been forming a relationship with Michael?<\/strong><\/p>\nHVIII: <\/strong>He\u2019s been awesome. He\u2019s also helped me out whenever I\u2019m going through something during play. I\u2019ll just bounce it off of him.<\/p>\nFor example, I was struggling last year and I asked him what he did when he was going through a slump. He just told me that I was putting too much pressure on myself. Relax and focus on your fundamentals. I thought that was pretty cool and he responded right back.<\/p>\nphoto by Montana Pritchard\/PGA of America via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSnkrs Day: Has there been any trash talk from him yet?<\/strong><\/p>\nHVIII: <\/strong>Not too much, but when we\u2019ve played together he can get it going.<\/p>\nSnkrs Day: Golf is an expensive game and your HV3 foundation helps bring that access to kids who wouldn\u2019t normally have it. In your opinion, what do you think can be done to make golf more accessible?<\/strong><\/p>\nHVIII: <\/strong>When I first got on the PGA Tour, I didn\u2019t think anything of it. I thought it was like, \u201cIf the kids want to play, let them play.\u201d That\u2019s how it was for me growing up. If me and my dad wanted to play four or five holes, we would just go and play, or I can just chip around. I just had the access pretty much.<\/p>\nAs I get older \u2013 it\u2019s unfortunate that it\u2019s like this \u2013 but people look at people like dollars. \u201cOh, this kid wants to play? We\u2019re going to charge him this.\u201d That\u2019s unfortunate, but my job is to help make it accessible no matter what it takes and that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do with my HV3 foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\nYou just have to get them out there and that\u2019s the hardest part. For instance, in Gastonia, the issue is just getting people to the course. In school, I used to just ride with a friend or since my mom worked so early that when she got off she could just take me to the course. If you\u2019re not in that situation \u2013 which most kids from the inner city are not \u2013 it\u2019s just really hard to get out there.<\/p>\n
I think if you can just get out there, some are going to stick with it and some aren\u2019t, but you\u2019ll have a better chance at really enjoying it.<\/p>\nphoto by Keyur Khamar\/PGA TOUR<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSnkrs Day: THE PLAYERS championship is right in your backyard in Jacksonville, FL. Do you still get any nerves leading up to play?<\/strong><\/p>\nHVIII: <\/strong>I think I get real nervous when I feel unprepared because I don\u2019t have an idea that I\u2019m ready to go. I feel really good, though. I live down there and even though I have a place in Charlotte, I spend the winters in Jacksonville.<\/p>\nSo, I\u2019ve played there a hundred times and I\u2019ve lived there for about three years, so I have a pretty good understanding of what you need to do and playing well last year is going to help out a lot as well.<\/p>\n
Snkrs Day: You finished high on the leaderboard last year in this same tournament, so you obviously feel comfortable with the course?<\/strong><\/p>\nHVIII: <\/strong>A hundred percent. It\u2019s crazy how that works out. You go to a course where you haven\u2019t played well and then you go to one where you have played well and you don\u2019t play as well. It\u2019s going to be a little different this year with the wind and the course will be a little bit different but I\u2019ll be ready.<\/p>\nTHE PLAYERS\u00a0Championship takes place on NBC & GOLF from March 14-17<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been more than two decades since Nike officially announced the launch of the Jordan Brand. To this day, athletes…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":328321,"featured_media":896766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1225574],"tags":[1225575],"cultivate_rss":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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