Henley opens the Masters with expectations as a dark-horse contender
The place to keep up with Russell Henley this week is the same place that's kept up with him every season: The Central Georgia Sports Report
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The place to keep up with Russell Henley this week is the same place that's kept up with him every season: The Central Georgia Sports Report 〰️
Having played on it only five times and not since 2018, it’s not like Augusta National gives Russell Henley any kind of home-course advantage when the Masters begins Thursday morning.
But his game and the strong season he’s having has the Stratford grad considered as a dark horse to consider.
Actionnetwork.com has him as a sleeper.
Russell Henley’s son Robert gets a start on studying Augusta National on Wednesday during the Par-3 contest. But daughter Ruth needed a lift.
Photos: Getty/USA Today
“Henley’s record at Augusta rides a bit under the radar, in part because he has not been successful enough elsewhere on Tour to earn trips to the Masters year after year. Henley has only played five of the last nine Masters Tournaments, yet has performed well in his chances on the big stage.
Henley tees off at 12:13 p.m. on No. 1 with Corey Conners and Lee Westwood. That trio has an early start on Friday, at 8:55 a.m. on No. 1.
“After missing his first cut back in 2013, Henley has made four in a row, with top 15s in each of his last two appearances. Only three of his last 12 rounds at Augusta have been over par.
“Like Conners, Henley enters this week playing well. He is a perfect 11-for-11 making cuts this season, with top 15 finishes in four of his last five stroke-play tournament. Per the numbers at DataGolf, Henley leads all players in this week’s field in Strokes Gained: Approach over the last six months.
“Time and time again, iron play has proven invaluable at the Masters. Taking the guy swinging his irons the best of late is a smart place to start.”
The site also picks Kevin Na, Webb Simpson, Si Woo Kim, and Corey Conners.
And BetGM has him at +$6,600.
Fan Duel lists him tied for 23rd at +5000 odds, with the likes of Conners, Bryson DeChambeau, and Tiger Woods.
CBS Sports has a list of sleepers, topped by Kim, at 100-1 odds. Henley is sixth at 50-1.
“He doesn't miss cuts. The last time he had to sit out a weekend was at last year's Open Championship, and his record at Augusta is sterling. Four made cuts in five starts with three of those resulting in top 25 finishes. He also has four top 15s in his six PGA Tour starts in 2022.
“Tremendous iron player on the major course where it is perhaps the most important to hit your irons well. There's a ton to like about Henley as a top 15-type player at this event.”
ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach has Henley in Tier II as somebody who can win “if everything goes right,” along with Woods, Conners, Bubba Watson, and Reed, among others.
Henley 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), Watson (40th), Woods (45th), and 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.