Henley hits a hiccup on No. 3, still in top 10 after two U.S. Open rounds
The Sports Report of Central Georgia
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Russell Henley’s day on the course started early, and it was a good day for a while.
He ended the first round of the U.S. Open sharing the lead at 1-under, and went through his front nine – the course back nine – maintaining the status quo.
Then came No. 3. And there went being atop the leaderboard.
Henley’s triple bogey dropped him down in the standings, and he salvaged the round despite two more bogeys to remain in the top 10 after two rounds.
His 142 is two over, and tied with Ricky Fowler for ninth.
“I felt pretty good out there. Felt like my swing was where I wanted it. Felt good physically,” Henley told reporters after his round. “You know, that wind was tough. The wind and rain was a tough stretch in the middle of the round.
“You don't have to be far off to get penalized out here. But, you know, I'm happy with how I hung in there today. You know, yeah, you never want to finish with a bogey, but I've played a lot of good golf and, you know, if I keep doing what I'm doing, I'm going to have a good tournament.”
Dustin Johnson, one of Thursday’s co-leaders, kept rolling and has sole possession of first with a 136, four ahead of Scott Piercy and Charley Hoffman.
He found some burly fescue on 3, and struggled to get out of it.
“Couldn't see my ball,” he said. “I could only see it if I kind of ducked down to the right. You know, I don't know if - maybe I should have practiced that shot more, just chipping out in the practice rounds.
“I thought that I hit the right shot every time, and it's just difficult. I mean, I would have much rather been plugged in a bunker or anywhere else. I feel like, if I would have hit it 20 more yards offline, I probably would have been okay.
“But if you hit it just off the fairway, it's not very good.”
Despite the major hiccup, Henley is still in contention, and still confident.
“I'm just trying to hang in there,” he said in the post-round press conference. “I mean, tomorrow, if I birdie, you know, the first three or four holes, then I'm in a different spot in the tournament. We've just stopped at 36, you know. There's still so much golf to be played, and I'm just trying to stay patient.
“I'm going to just keep doing what I'm doing, keep trying to believe in every shot that I hit, and go try to get it done.”
The Latest: Cut takes out Woods, Spieth, McIlroy, Day
(From Thursday)
Henley manages to keep it under control, no more ‘stupid shots’