Central Georgia Sports ReportComment

Henley enters his ninth Masters still a little under the radar, but also as a major contender as a top-10 player

Central Georgia Sports ReportComment
Henley enters his ninth Masters still a little under the radar, but also as a major contender as a top-10 player

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

 

          On one hand, Russell Henley has momentum, only a month ago winning his fifth PGA Tour tournament, the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

          On the other hand, maybe not.

          It’s been a full month since he turned in a clutch and efficient performance in winning the API, but he followed that with a tied-for-30th finish at The Players Championship.

          He then sat out Valspar, the Houston Open, and the Texas Open.

          It’s anybody’s guess – almost - what to expect from Henley when he tees off in his ninth Masters on Thursday.

Henley at The Masters

Year           Pos. 1         2        3        4        Tot    Par
2013            Cut   72      81      -        -        153    +9
2014            T31   73      70      75      75      293    +5
2015            21      68      74      72      71      285    -3
2017            T11   71      76      71      69      287    -1
2018            T15    73      72      71      67      283    -5
2022            T30   73      74      76      70      293    +5
2023            T4     73      67      71      70      281    -7
2024            T38   73      77      74      71      295    +7

          Henley is grouped with Brooks Koepka and Sungjae Im, and they’ll cut loose at 12:50 p.m. in one of the final half-dozen trios.

          He’s never really been in this position, sitting among the top golfers in the world, in perception and reality.

          Henley is behind only Rory McIlroy and Sepp Straka in the FedExCup rankings, ahead of Collin Morikawa and J.J. Spaun.

          Scottie Scheffler is No. 10  in FedExCup but still No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings, where Henley is seventh, after ending last year 17th. McIlroy is second.

          The Arnold Palmer win was huge, Henley avoiding all of the pitfalls and disasters that sabotaged him the past few years when he had three quality rounds and started Sunday in contention only for something to happen.

          Nothing bad happened in a win that qualified as an “It’s about time” victory to many, Henley unable to complete other tournaments despite plenty of stellar play and a rise in the rankings to a consensus top 20 reputation.

          The so-so follow-up a week later wasn’t overly shocking, considering it had been a while since Henley went into a tournament off a win, especially one that big, but a triple bogey in the Players’ third round was a surprise.

          His general play and consistency, hiccups aside, the last year or so again have him on the general “players to watch” list this week.

          From Golfdigest.com: “Henley’s not the flashiest name, but his consistency is lethal. … In his win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, he excelled in all the areas he will need to if he wants to find the first page of the leader board here in Georgia.

          From Golf.com: He’s always played OK here (four top-25s in eight starts) and is just starting to play the best major golf of his career — his three major top-10s are all from the past two years, including his past two majors played. …

          “If he’s seventh in the world right now, is he really a sleeper pick? He also has incredible touch on and around the greens — which will come in handy while navigating Augusta’s punishing greenside bunkers.”

          From Sporting News (ranking him 15th): Henley flies a bit under the radar, but he's solid across the board. … Henley's a great value at +5500.”

          From Rotoballer.com: “Other than off the tee (-0.059), he ranks inside the top 25 for every other strokes gained metric. Having success at Augusta National from tee to green revolves around hitting as many greens as possible, and taking advantage of par-5s. Henley does both extremely well,

          One story listed Henley as one of 10 golfers to root for:

          “… he was once among the world's best amateurs and a potential rising star, but he did not fulfill his potential during his 20s. Instead, he's found a career renaissance in his mid-30s, most recently winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational against a loaded field. Considering Henley's candidacy at a similar age, the idea that someone can find a new peak in their 30s is an attractive proposition.”

          Of seven people on a Golf Digest panel, Henley - not among the nearly 50 players who did media sessions this week in Augusta - is the dark horse pick for four of them, at 50-1.

          Two years ago, 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.

          Last year, he entered the Masters with the solid momentum of a fourth-place finish and three sub-70 rounds at the Valero Open in Texas.

          He left last year’s Masters frustrated, with a 7-over 295, the weekend disrupted by a second-round 77 en route to a tie for 38th, his worst finish in Augusta.

          Henley’s average finish in Augusta is 21st in seven four-round tries. He didn’t play in 2019, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

          In  30 rounds, he’s shot 70 or less seven times, and opened his past four visits with a 73.

          He followed a third-round 76 in 2022 with a 70 for that tie for 30th. Of the seven full tournaments, his fourth round has been better than his third round six times.

          Henley, who turns 36 on Saturday, is in the top 10 on the Tour in going for the green, birdie or better (second), greens in regulation percentage (third), birdie average (fourth), putting from 15-20 feet (fifth), scoring average (fifth), and shots gained (sixth).

          An oddity: he’s fifth in putting from 20-25 feet and 12th from 10-15, but 139th from 15-20 feet.

          He’s 19th in putting, solid in approach, but so-so around the green and scrambling.

          The consistency he’s gained from confidence gained the past few years, plus his ability to maintain both in the Arnold Palmer, is a reason eyes will be on him this week.

          “I don't know if I'd describe a five-time winner on the PGA Tour as being under the radar, but Russell Henley sure isn't getting much credit for being the No. 7 player in the world,” wrote ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, a Georgia grad like Henley. “If a Masters winner has to find fairways and execute second shots, there aren't many golfers in the field better than Henley.”