Henley's view from the Masters is a relaxed view after failing to qualify
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Russell Henley’s sixth appearance in the Masters has to wait a year.
The Stratford and Georgia grad didn’t qualify for the 86th edition of the Masters, which started Thursday morning.
The 29 year old, now living in Charleston, S.C. finished tied for 15th last year. That finish – only four spots off his 2017 tie for 11th - came mere days after he and wife Teil welcomed Robert Russell Henley into the world.
He celebrated his first birthday on April 4.
Henley the father has had a so-so season thus far.
His best finish is tied for 15th in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in early February. He has competed in 13 PGA events, and missed the cut in six, including the Players Championship last month.
He is 141st in the FedEx Cup standings, a chunk lower than his worst previous finish of 88th last year, and 125th in the World Golf Rankings. Henley became a full-fledge pro in 2013, and has averaged 25 events per season. He has had at least three top-10 finishes each year since then, and his record for missed cuts is 12, in 2016 and 2014.
Those two years, though, he still had respectable FedEx Cup finishes of 83rd and 50th. He was 128th and 60th in the world rankings those two years.
Up next on the PGA schedule is the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C. starting next Thursday, and then the Zurich Classic of New Orleans a week later.
After last year’s Masters and the introduction to fatherhood, Henley took some time off and didn’t compete again until the Wells Fargo Championship in early May.
Two years ago, Henley finished tied for 26th in the Heritage and, despite shooting 6 under, missed the cut in the Zurich Classic.
Henley was unable to qualify this year by not, among other minimums, finishing in the top 12 last year, winning a Tour event.
He has shot under par in six of seven full tournaments this year, and been under par in three of the cuts.