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Englishman Rose showed no signs of rust after
the long layoff as he waltzed through a bogey-free round in the
morning at the spectator-free Charles Schwab Challenge.
Varner followed in the afternoon with a blistering round under
sunny Texas skies, capping it off with an 11-foot putt on 18 for
his seventh birdie of the day to pull even with Rose.
Four players, including world number four Justin Thomas, were
locked in a tie for third at six under. World number one Rory
McIlroy had an unremarkable round to finish two under and tied
for 39th.
"It felt quite subdued out there for sure," Rose said of playing
without fans cheering on the impressive field, which included
the top five golfers in the world rankings.
"It kind of feels like a competitive practice round. But I think
we all know what's on the line. We all know what we're playing
for."
Everyone in the field underwent mandatory COVID-19 testing prior
to teeing off as the tour ended its longest unscheduled break
from competition since World War Two.
"Just being out here is a success, to be honest with you,
getting started," said American Ryan Palmer, who hit the day's
opening tee shot.
"I don't see anything holding us back moving forward. I think
today was the biggest day, just getting this first day off."
Palmer (72) began his round about two hours before the 8:46 a.m.
(1346 GMT) tee time was left vacant as golfers stopped play to
observe a moment of silence to honor George Floyd, the black man
who died last month after a white police officer knelt on his
neck, sparking widespread protests.
It was a solemn scene as golfers and caddies stood with their
heads bowed during a time slot selected to reflect how long - 8
minutes and 46 seconds - the officer's knee was on Floyd's neck.
Varner, who is among only a handful of black players on the
tour, called the moment of silence "pretty cool," a sentiment
echoed by other players.
Varner has long been an advocate for greater racial diversity in
the pro game but said right now his focus is on trying to win
his first PGA Tour event.
"The reason I have a platform is because I'm really good at
golf," the 29-year-old told reporters.
"I just need to focus on that."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue and Steve Keating in Toronto and Rory
Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ed Osmond and Christopher
Cushing)
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