Henley set for Masters with some momentum

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          Russell Henley will be rested and have some momentum when he tees off Thursday at the Masters.

          He has made the cut in all 11 regular tournaments he has competed in this season, and has only one tournament with an over-par finish, when he was one over in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in early March.

          That’s the best run of made cuts in Henley’s pro career. He missed only four cuts in 24 events in 2014-15, the best figure of his career.

          And he has been in the hunt on more Sundays than any other season.

          He finished seventh in the Houston Open, second in the Sony, 14th in the American Express. Henley led or shared the lead for substantial periods in those tournaments, letting a win slip away n the Sony Open and losing in a playoff.

          That followed a strong finish to last season that included a 54-hole lead of the Wyndham Championship only to struggle on Sunday and miss out on a seven-player playoff.

          Henley went 0-3 in the World Golf Championships match-play tournament in late March, losing 1-up to Kevin Na, 2&1 to Joaquin Niemann, and 2&1 to Maverick McNealy. Na reached the round of 16 in Austin.

          Henley has eight top-25 finishes in 12 events this season, and has made $2.1 million. He ranks 19th in the FedEx Cup rankings, and is 42nd in the Official World Golf Ranking.

          Henley finished 19th and 57th last year in those two metrics. His top-50 ranking in the OWGF as of March 28 put him in this year’s tournament.

          Golf Digest has Henley 33rd in ranking this year’s field, as of Sunday:

          “He’s been one of the best iron players on tour for the last five years and leads in SG/approach, which typically indicates a hyper-elite player. The rest of his game, however, lags slightly behind, though he is playing perhaps the best golf of his career. Blew a five-shot lead on the back nine to lose the Sony Open in Hawaii but has finished T-33 or better in each of his five stroke-play starts since.”

          The magazine has Henley ranked ahead of Marc Leisham (35th), Hideki Matsuyama (36th), Bubba Watson (40th), Tiger Woods (45th), and Bryson DeChambeau (48th), among others.

          The list of those who will be somewhere else this week is notable: Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Ian Poulter, Jimmy Walker,

          Henley was not in last year’s Masters field.

          This will be his sixth Masters, first since 2018. He missed the cut in his first go, in 2013, but has had four straight good weekends, finishing in the top 31 and better.

          After a five-over 293 in 2014, Henley is nine under in the last three, going five under in 2018. Of 18 rounds, Henley has been at par or better in 11.