Central Georgia Sports ReportComment

Henley set for Presidents Cup debut in Montreal

Central Georgia Sports ReportComment
Henley set for Presidents Cup debut in Montreal

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

 

          From Macon to Montreal, Russell Henley’s September has been a fairly full one.

          Last week, he was in his old hometown for several hours last Tuesday for the golf part of the two-day Five Star Kevin Brown Russell Henley Celebrity Classic charity event.

          Less than a week later, he arrived in Montreal, joining 11 teammates preparing for the Presidents Cup at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, west of the city of nearly two million people and surrounded by water, the Lake of two Mountains and the Prairies River.

          A year ago, Henley followed up his short visit to Macon by playing no competitive golf from the Tour Championship ending in late August until the RSM Classic in mid-November and the Grant Thornton Invitational ( two-person team tournament), tying for 13th in both.

          Now, he’s in the Presidents Cup.

          This September has been a little different indeed.

          Henley wasn’t much of a surprise pick when the announcement of the Captain’s selections were announced by Jim Furyk on Sept. 3, only two days after the Tour Championship, in which Henley tied for fourth and capped with a dazzling eagle on No. 18.

          Of those ranked after the automatic qualifiers, Henley was third, and Furyk went in order of the next six players for the at-large selections, putting Henley in easily.

          “It's been surreal,” said Henley, uncharacteristically talkative in his turn at the microphone on a day Tuesday of press conferences. “I mean, I definitely feel like I've put in the work, and I feel like I've worked on all the right things. Over the last five or six years, I feel like I've started to do things the right way.

          “Then to get the call that I was in, it's just kind of like, I'm still trying to kind of wrap my head around it because it's so hard. It's so hard, and it just gets harder out here, I feel like. Yeah, it's been a dream come true.”

          While Henley was considered all but a lock for the team, it was still something of a relief as well as affirmation.

          “12th year on tour, to make a team is pretty cool,” he said. “I kind of feel like I deserve it a little bit more, versus a few years ago, I kind of would, even if I was close, like last year, I kind of wouldn't have felt like I really deserved to be on the team.

          “I think I've been building that confidence the last couple years especially. And especially this year, as I've started to play well in the big events, play well in the Signature Events, play well on courses that really aren't made for me.”

          Henley’s belief that he had earned the selection comes during a year of progress in his overall game and on a variety of courses.

          “Like finishing 10th at Quail Hollow, and the course is extremely long with very hard greens, and I'm kind of a lowball hitter and don't hit it as far as a lot of these guys,” he said. “So I've started to feel that I can do it on courses that aren't set up for me.

          “So, yeah, it's kind of been building, and definitely this year has kind of helped me make the jump with my most consistent play in the majors, too.”

          He practiced Tuesday with Saheeth Theegala, Collin Morikawa, and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. And he had a course scouting report.

          “I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s definitely just a bunch of drivers for me,” Henley said. “I think there’s one or two holes where I might hit less. It’s just a bunch of drivers. I’m comfortable with my driver, and the greens are great.

          From golfweek.usatoday.com:
          “Russell Henley didn’t win during the 2024 season but the four-time Tour winner enjoyed one of his best seasons, finishing T-4 in the Tour Championship. He’s become a top ball-striker and can be a streaky putter. He’s one of the more underrated players on Tour and finally gets a shot at international team competition for the Stars and Stripes.
          “Furyk on Henley: ‘Russell has been one of the most consistent players on the PGA Tour these last two years, and I can’t wait to have him in Montreal with the U.S. Team next month. He is unflappable under pressure and without doubt one of the best putters in our game, which is a fantastic combination for match play success.”

          “I feel like there’s a lot of little ridges in the greens I’m not used to seeing on a lot of courses that’s just different. Yeah, I really like it. I think it’s very fair. It’s pretty much in front of you. I think it’s fun.”

          The five four-ball matches start Thursday at 11:35 a.m., with five foursomes at 1:05 p.m. on Friday. The four four-ball matches on Saturday start at 7:02 a.m., followed by four foursomes at 1:40 p.m.

          A dozen singles matches begin at 12:02 p.m. on Sunday. The event is on the Golf Channel on Thursday and Friday, NBC on Saturday and Sunday.

          The differences between four-ball and foursomes, as per www.presidentscup.com: “Foursomes (also known as alternate shot) is a form of play involving partners (in either match play or stroke play) where two partners compete as a side by playing one ball in alternating order on each hole.

“Four-ball is a form of play (in either match play or stroke play) involving partners where two partners compete together as a side, with each player playing his or her own ball, and a side’s score for a hole is the lower score of the two partners.”

          The first day’s pairings were announced Wednesday afternoon, and Henley is matched up with the world’s best player, Scheffler, at 12:11 p.m. They go against Sungae Im and Tom Kim.

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          It’s quite different than the normal four days of golf,  more so than he’s experienced, but his approach won’t change much.

            “I've tried to model my game kind of like his in a lot of ways,” Henley said. “He's always talking about being comfortable, and he says that some days he might feel comfortable hitting driver off one tee, and another day he might feel more comfortable hitting the hybrid.

          “So for the most part, I'm pretty consistent on how I play courses, but there's a lot of changes to be made based off weather and how I'm feeling, and I try to listen to those things.”