By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com 

          A year ago, Russell Henley had the week off before the Masters, and had finished in the top 20 in his two previous events, after a rough visit to the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

          Still, Henley fine-tuned things and finished tied for fourth in Augusta. This year, he carries the solid momentum of a fourth-place finish at the Valero Open in Texas into the 88th Masters in hopes of similar success.

          “I'm feeling more and more comfortable here,” he said Tuesday in his media visit. “I'm excited to play. I love the course and the prep. You ask about the prep, there's so many fun short game shots around this place that you can kind of just be creative, hit them a lot of different ways, and the lies are perfect.”

          “The greens are perfect, lots of big slopes. You just get to use your imagination.”

          The plan is, as of now, fairly simple, but the field may have to adjust.

          “Just play my game,” he said. “I don't know what this weather is going to bring in, if it's going to bring in a ton of rain and make it really long, but just try to play my game and attack when I can attack and try to hit it on the correct side of the hole.”

          Rain is expected Wednesday and Thursday, with a slight cold front on Thursday with some solid wind gusts expected, and perhaps more than an inch of rain.

          The next three days look to be sweet golf weather. That includes on Friday, when Henley turns 35.         

          Weather was an issue last year, with play suspended on Friday when trees fell, and then on Saturday as rain fell and fell. The third round had to be completed on Sunday before the final round started.

          The 2007 Stratford graduate tees off at 9:48 a.m. Thursday, and is playing with Joaquin Niemann and Nick Taylor, and at 1 p.m. on Friday. The last group goes at 2 p.m. each day.

          Henley entered Masters week with a career milestone, his first Official World Golf ranking in the top 20, at No. 17. That passes the No. 22 spot he held this season.

          He is 21st in the FedExCup list.

          “Sometimes, I feel like my game is a little off and I'm struggling, but I feel like I'm able to manage my game on those days and make pars and kind of make some scrappy pars,” he said. “I feel like I've been able to keep my round going, working on my short game a lot. Some days I don't really feel that good, but I've been able to make those rounds okay, and I think that's the difference.”

          In PGA Tour stats, Henley is in the top 30 in sand save percentage (1st), total putting (16th), putts per round (14th), three-putt performance (6th), bogey avoidance (11th), shots gained (21st), shots gained putting (29th), longest drives (30th), driving accuracy percentage (30th), scrambling (30th), as well as in many other extremely specific categories

          Assorted media outlets again have Henley on the list of contenders, albeit just outside the prime group.

          The Golf Channel ranked all 89, and had Henley 22nd: “Will be tough for Henley to back up last year's Masters T-4, but he still checks a lot of boxes, including No. 21 in total strokes gained and a recent solo fourth at Valero.”

          ESPN.com broke down the field in seven categories, and has Henley in the “Tier III: If everything goes right” category: “Henley grew up in Macon, Georgia, about 120 miles from Augusta National Golf Club. He had three sub-par rounds to tie for fourth last year, his best finish in seven starts.

Revisiting 2023’s Masters

So-so season has Henley flying under the radar entering his seventh Masters
Henley overcomes some early hiccups for a solid first round at the Masters
All facets of Henley’s game on point in second round
Henley creeps into the top 10 in Augusta amid weather
Henley turns in a career performance with four steady rounds at the Masters, adds a new memory to an Augusta trip

More Henley coverage from The Sports Report
Catching up with Russell Henley: "I feel great about my game", almost seven weeks before showing it with PGA Tour win
Henley has a solid Sunday, and carries momentum and confidence into PGA Tour's second playoff tournament
Henley finishes tournament, season on a high note

          The Action Network has Henley as an 80-1 pick to win, in its Longshots & Sleeper picks from Draftkings:

          “Henley enters the Masters in some of the best form of his career, and his combination of Driving Accuracy, Approach play and putting upside gives him value at this 80-1 price to win at Augusta National.

          “In his 12 starts since The Open, Henley has seven top-14 finishes, including top-four finishes in 2024 at the Sony Open in Hawaii and Arnold Palmer Invitational.

          “While Henley isn’t the longest off the tee, he is strong everywhere else throughout the bag. He ranks 33rd or better on Tour in Driving Accuracy, Strokes Gained (SG): Around the Green and SG: Putting.

          “Henley’s Approach play has been below his standard to start this season, but I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on Approach because he has ranked among the top 18 in SG: Approach each of the past four years on Tour.

          “While Henley’s Driving Accuracy, Around the Green game and Approach play have historically been the strengths of his game, Henley’s putter has not always been a positive. However, Henley is 30th on Tour in SG: Putting this season at +0.440 SG per round, which is his best SG: Putting value on Tour since 2015.

          “Henley should also enter Augusta National with confidence after his career-best tie for fourth here last year. In his last six starts at the Masters Tournament, the Georgia Bulldog has finished no worse than 31st, so his game clearly suits Augusta National.

          He’s on the CBS Sports list of sleepers at No. 2:

“Rude. Disrespectful. Downright egregious. Am I the only one who believes in Henley? If you take away his name and just look at his résumé, this price should be shorter. Henley has rattled off eight top 15s in his last 13 starts including a T4 at the Arnold Palmer  Invitational in early March and last week in Texas.

          “If that wasn't enough, Henley quietly cooks at Augusta National. Since missing the cut in his debut, Henley has made his way through to the weekend in six straight trips with finishes of T11 in 2017, T15 in 2018 and T4 just last year! I understand he isn't a world beater, but there's a world where Henley contends again. Odds: 70-1.”

          TheSpun.com agreed: “Russell Henley is one of the hottest names on "sleeper" boards across the country for good reason. Not only does Henley perform well at the Masters - he's only missed the cut once in seven tries and has three top-15's including a top 5 last year - he's also one of the best golfers in the world right now. Severely underrated, Henley is top 20 in the Official World Golf Rankings, but sits at 70-1, or even worse odds in some books, to win the Masters.”

          PGATour.com broke down the field by elimination based on a variety of categories, and had Henley in the final 17-30, eliminated in the “You have to be dialed in at the Masters unless you putt unconsciously” group, with Collin Morikawa, Brian Harman, Jason Day, and Cameron Smith, among others.

          Henley’s average finish in Augusta is 16th, the worst a tie for 30th in 2022. He didn’t play in2019, 2019, 2020 and 2021. In 26 rounds, he’s shot 70 or less seven times, and opened his past three visits with a 73.

          He followed a third-round 76 in 2022 with a 70 for that tie for 30th.

          “I think you've got to embrace just all the nerves and excitement,” he said. “It's just a big week. Everybody is out here on Monday clapping and cheering for you when you're hitting shots into these greens.

          “It's just a much different setup than a normal Tour event, so you just have to embrace all the excitement, and that's kind of what I did last year.

          “I feel like I did a good job of just trying to let that excitement help me stay more focused on what I was doing.”