Newbie Henley played like a veteran at the Presidents Cup, closing out a solid tournament with a solid singles win

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          As with any rookie season or in an event, there was a level of wonder about how Russell Henley would perform in his first outside-the-norm pro event, like the Presidents Cup.

          It turns out that the four-day international event held in Montreal was a pretty short putt for the Stratford grad.

Henley ‘inspiration for people in a similar life stage who may feel like it’s tough to keep up’

          He went 2-1 in the team events with No. 1 player Scottie Scheffler, and finished things off on Sunday with a win over Sungjae Im 3 & 2 (up three holes with two to play) in singles competition as the U.S. won again,18.5-11.5 .

          Henley birdied No. 2, 7, 12 and 12 while Im had two pars, Henley turning in a bogey-free round. Scheffler, Sam Burns, Keegan Bradley, Tony Finau, Brian Harman, and Max Homa couldn’t say that.

          “I didn't have it off the tee today, but it felt like I hit a lot of really good wedge shots and made some good putts in some key moments,” Henley said. “Just really thankful to get a point.

          “It's a lot of golf. It's very intense.”

          That the crowd was on Im’s side didn’t escape him.

          “It's been loud all week, and they've been cheering hard against me,” he said. “You just try to use those comments to fuel you a little bit. It's fun. I like trying to silence everybody.”

          Henley tied – Scottie Scheffler, no less - for the fifth best week on the U.S. team with three points, going 3-1 overall. Other newbies were Wyndham Clark, Sahith Theegala and Brian Harman. Clark and Theegala tied for ninth with 1.5 points and Harman was last, going 0 for 3.

          Golf.com gave him a B+, its fifth-best grade: “Henley quietly won three points in his first team event action and was the U.S.’s fourth-best player from a strokes gained perspective, according to DataGolf. He arguably outplayed Scheffler in their Saturday foursomes win and then took care of Sungjae Im early on Sunday to inch the U.S. toward victory.

          Henley’s only loss was in Friday’s foursome when he and Scheffler lost on the last hole to Si Woo Km and Byeong Hun An.

“I felt like we got beat yesterday when we actually played really solid,” Henley said Saturday. “And that's just match play.”

          The pair rebounded in Saturday’s foursome with a 3&2 win over Hikdeki Matsuyama and Im.

          “Well, I've got a tough partner, I really do,” Scheffler said. “Sometimes out there, that's what's great about team golf, you don't get to experience too much. He really picked me up because I felt like I was letting him down early in the match. I really was.”

          While Henley was no doubt happy to return home, the flight went a little faster after a memorable tournament and quality play.

          “This is a long week,” he said. “I'm just thankful to be on the team but also to get some points for the team. It just means the world to me.”

          His stock rose a bit in the eyes of the world’s best player, according to PGATour.com, with an eye toward the Ryder Cup.

          ““He's one of the guys where we were looking at the picks towards the time the Playoffs were starting, he was a guy we all wanted on the team,” Scheffler said. “He was one of our locks to be picked. He proved why this week. He's a really talented player.

“I'm excited for him to be a future part of these teams as well.”