{"id":98879,"date":"2022-02-21T10:29:37","date_gmt":"2022-02-21T16:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=98879"},"modified":"2022-02-21T20:35:04","modified_gmt":"2022-02-22T02:35:04","slug":"past-exemption-recipients-return-to-genesis-invitational","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/past-exemption-recipients-return-to-genesis-invitational\/","title":{"rendered":"Past exemption recipients return to Genesis Invitational"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alex Hutton
\n<\/strong>Medill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Harold Varner III walked along the fairway of the first hole at Riviera Country Club during his Wednesday pro-am practice round for this weekend\u2019s Genesis Invitational. As he approached the walkway that separates the two sections of fairway, he noticed a piece of trash on the ground. He went to pick it up before the wind, which had been intermittent all day, could blow it away. He succeeded.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGot it,\u201d he said in a tongue-in-cheek manner, intentionally making his actions seem more remarkable than they actually were.<\/span><\/p>\n

Varner moved around the course comfortably and with an easygoing demeanor. After all, he\u2019s used to it at this point. It\u2019s his eighth appearance at Genesis. But it wasn\u2019t always that way for him \u2014 and fittingly, his professional career received a nice boost from this tournament back in 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

That year, Varner received the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption to compete in the Genesis Invitational. Created in 2009, the exemption is awarded to one minority golfer each year and is named after Sifford, the first African-American to compete on the PGA Tour. Varner is one of three past exemption recipients competing at Genesis this year, along with 2016 recipient J.J. Spaun and 2018 designee Cameron Champ.<\/span><\/p>\n

Varner and Champ both have distinct memories of receiving the exemption.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got it, I was just so fired up,\u201d said Varner, who had unsuccessfully applied for the exemption the year before. \u201cI really just wanted to play on the PGA Tour. And I was ready. I\u2019d played in the U.S. Open. And I was just ready to see how I stacked up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Champ, like Varner and many others who have played under the exemption, got the opportunity early in his pro career. He had made only a couple of starts before his Genesis debut. The Sacramento native also appreciated being able to compete in his home state in front of his family and acknowledged the historical significance of the exemption.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a part of Mr. Sifford and the history of the game, and obviously (the tournament) being during Black History Month as well, it was definitely special,\u201d Champ said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Champ ultimately shot a 5-over through two rounds and missed the cut in 2018, but said he remains appreciative of the chance he got to break into PGA competition.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had just turned pro and was just kind of getting a feeling of what it\u2019s like out here,\u201d he said. \u201cHanging out in the guys\u2019 locker room, on the range, doing the pro-am, stuff like that. So for a guy that\u2019s coming out and getting that exemption, it\u2019s just a huge piece of getting exposed to all this and getting the experience under your belt.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Varner made the cut in 2014 and finished 4-over to tie for 70th place. He remembers making a putt on the final hole to make the cut with Rick Waddell, the chairman of Northern Trust \u2014 then the event\u2019s title sponsor \u2014 looking on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, several years later, the careers and outlooks of both golfers have changed considerably. They\u2019ve won tournaments on various tours, competed in numerous PGA events and aren\u2019t looking to break through with exemptions anymore. Instead, they find themselves able to observe and develop relationships with other golfers, including Spaun and this year\u2019s Sifford Exemption recipient, Aaron Beverly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI keep track of everyone who gets (the exemption), so it\u2019s pretty cool,\u201d Varner said. \u201cYou always want to see how it propels them, how they get better. I see J.J. Spaun a lot. We had (kids) at the same time, so that was just crazy. And then I just met Aaron. I didn\u2019t know him before, so that\u2019s super cool.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Champ has a much closer connection with Beverly. Both are from California, and the two played together while growing up. Although Champ doesn\u2019t want to overload his friend with too much advice, he is using his past experiences from the Genesis Invitational \u2014 and the exemption \u2014 to speculate on what might be the keys for Beverly to have success.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor him, I just said, \u2018Just enjoy yourself, you know? Have fun with it,\u2019\u201d Champ said. \u201c\u2018I know you\u2019re probably going to be a little bit nervous, which is good. I mean, nerves (are) never a bad thing. So you just go out and play your game.\u2019 He\u2019ll be perfectly fine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Alex Hutton is a sports media graduate student at Medill. You can follow him on Twitter at @AlexHutton35<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alex Hutton Medill Reports LOS ANGELES \u2014 Harold Varner III walked along the fairway of the first hole at Riviera Country Club during his Wednesday pro-am practice round for this weekend\u2019s Genesis Invitational. As he approached the walkway that separates the two sections of fairway, he noticed a piece of trash on the ground. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":821,"featured_media":98898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5201,31,5212,5155],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medill-explores-2022","category-sports","category-la-sports-2022","category-winter-2022"],"yoast_head":"\nPast exemption recipients return to Genesis Invitational - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/past-exemption-recipients-return-to-genesis-invitational\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Past exemption recipients return to Genesis Invitational - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Alex Hutton Medill Reports LOS ANGELES \u2014 Harold Varner III walked along the fairway of the first hole at Riviera Country Club during his Wednesday pro-am practice round for this weekend\u2019s Genesis Invitational. 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