Late hiccup interrupts sweet final round for Henley, settles for top-5 finish at Sony
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
For a long time Sunday, it appeared Russell Henley had a solid chance to celebrate in style the 11-year anniversary of his PGA Tour debut
And his first PGA Tour win, at the same time.
Henley finished strong on Jan. 13, 2013 to win the Sony Open, and was on point for most of Sunday’s final round of the same tournament.
A bogey – his first of the day – on No. 16 veered him off course in a crowded field of contenders, and he ended up in a tie for fourth, his first top-10 finish since August’s BMW Championship. This is his fifth tournament since then.
His final-round 63 was his best of the young season, and best since a final-round 62 last November in the RSM Classic. He is 27 under par after two tournaments.
Henley spent most of his his back nine in the lead or tied for it, with one or four people: Carl Yuan, Keegan Bradley, Beyong Hun An, and Grayson Murray. It was mostly Henley and Yuan for most of the back nine.
Yuan finished his round first, then Henley, followed by An, and then Murray and Bradley together.
The tee shot on 16 put Henley in a bind, deep in the left rough amid an obstacle course of trees. Not for long. He drove it low, and it rolled onto the green and then softly into a right-side rough, leaving him a substantially more makeable shot, about 25 feet from the pin.
He missed on his third shot, and had to settle for a bogey, his first of the day.
Yuan sent a shot on 18 way out of play, behind a fan tent. Confusion about rules and “free relief” followed, and the broadcast was unable to clarify immediately because officials didn’t clarify immediately.
And then there was a five-way tie for first, Henley with Yuan, Bradley, An, and Murray.
Struggles continued for Henley, whose tee s hot on 17 went into a greenside bunker to the left as Yuan went to the clubhouse 16 under and in that logjam.
Henley was next in line to finish, followed by An – a hole behind – and Bradley and Murray, three holes behind Henley. Officials determined Yuan qualified for “free relief” on 18 and his score stood.
But Henley almost turned in his shot of the tournament out of the sand, his shot rolling past the pin by an inch, and he managed a huge par on 17 to stay in the tie.
The good news was short-lived after a tee shot on par-5, 550-yard No. 18 then went long but right into primary rough, a bad lie, leaving him 280 yards from the pin. He found the fairway, though, about 90 yards from the hole and then faced a 15-footer for birdie.
Bradley took the lead with a nifty 21-foot birdie putt on 15 and An got a break on a drop on 17, while Henley prepared for his fourth shot, 15 difficult feet away.
It missed right by a few inches for birdie, and he drained the four-footer for par stay alive. He went in with a 63, 16-under, tied with Yuan, Murray, and An, the latter two still playing.
But Henley’s chance at a playoff died less than a half hour later when An turned in a quality birdie on 18 to move a shot up, and into a tie with Bradley for first, eventually setting up a three-way playoff with Murray joining the group.
The day got off to a nice start, Henley with three birdies through the first seven holes, and then came No. 9.
Not known as big off the tee, he went 324 yards on the 516-yard par 5, and his second shot left him barely 20 feet from the hole.
No problem, and suddenly Henley shared the lead, albeit for only a short time, after his first eagle of the year.
He had only three last season, the first not coming until mid June in the Travelers.
As he teed off on 11, he was tied – temporarily with four others in second, one back of Yuan and at 14 under.
He was back with a share of the lead after a birdie on par-3 11 – courtesy of a 44-foot putt that had some juice on it - and soon, he was joined by two others for a four-way tie up top, all at 15 under.
Henley took sole possession of first with a birdie on No. 13, a hole (481 yards, ranked 12th) he’d bogeyed the first three rounds. The difference? A better shot out of the same trouble. Twice, he was in the left rough and once in a right-side bunker earlier.
Sunday, his second shot went 186 yards, got some favorable bounces next to another bunker, and laid right on the green, leaving him an easy 3-footer for the easy birdie, and some momentum.
A chance at a two-shot lead was a hair right on a birdie try on 14, his par ending a run of three straight birdies.
Yaun jumped back into sharing the lead, Yaun through 16 and Henley through 14.
Henley’s second shot on 15 put him in bind, coming just short of clearing a greenside bunker, but he escaped and left it less than three feet for par.
At that point, he regained the lead when Yuan bogeyed 17 and fell into a three-way tie for second, one shot behind Henley.
Henley returns east while the tournament stays out west for the American Express, on three course in LaQuinta, Cal.