Varner III assessed two-shot penalty after equipment change

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Harold Varner III was assessed a two-shot penalty during the opening round of The Players after making an equipment change that was influenced in part by the actions of a walking official.

According to PGA Tour vice president of rules and competition Mark Russell, Varner “had a problem” with his driver on the range before starting play Thursday morning and did not want to put it in play. He wanted to have a new driver brought out to him during the round, which would have been allowed under the Rules of Golf since he planned to start the round with only 13 clubs.

But an issue arose because Varner wanted to put a new driver head on the shaft of his existing driver.…