Henley stays steady, remains among the leaders at the Tour Championship
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
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Things are going pretty well when you have the second-highest score of the day among those in the top 10, and you’re tied for third.
That’s the status for Stratford grad Russell Henley after three rounds of the Tour Championships, the Maconite within clear view of the FedEx Cup championship.
Henley’s 69 was only a little better than the 71 of sixth-place Cameron Young, who dropped three spots and is at 10-under.
The top of the leaderboard is packed for the final round, with five players separated by four shots, from co-leaders Patrick Cantlay and Tommy Fleetwood down to Scottie Scheffler, with Henley and Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley in between.
Bradley made the biggest surge, jumping 10 spots with the best round of the day as Fleetwood again was unable to expand on a lead, shooting a 67.
Henley tees off Sunday at 1:33 p.m., and is paired with Bradley, in the next-to-last group before Patrick Cantlay and Tommy Fleetwood.
Henley and Fleetwood were tied for first, and Henley dropped from there on the first hole with a bogey when he was just right from nine feet, all but a gimme this week.
They were tied after No. 5, but only for a hole, Fleetwood with a birdie on 6, the second of four straight to add to the lead.
Both bogeyed No. 9 to keep the margin at two, but Henley got one back on No. 10 with a 7-foot birdie putt, Fleetwood almost dropping a 36-footer for a birdie, settling for par.
A chance at tying again slipped away badly on No. 13 when Henley’s second shot stuck short of the green, 47 feet from the pin, and Fleetwood’s landed six feet from the hole.
Henley faced a 10-footer for par after his shot sped past the hole, and it just missed left for a bogey, Cantlay sliding up into a tie for second as the lead jumped to three with Fleetwood’s birdie.
Bradley soon joined Cantlay and Henley in the tied for second, Scheffler among those two back of the trio.
Cantlay took a 16-under 64 to the clubhouse, tied with Fleetwood at the time, followed by Bradley with a 63.
Henley finished with four pars and then a clutch birdie on 18, getting out of the rough off the the and following up a quality approach with a 7-footer for birdie, his fourth of the day.
Fleetwood stayed with the back after a double bogey on 15, followed by two birdies and a par.
It was an efficient day for Henley, who made only 48 feet of putts but tied for first in driving accuracy, and was 20th of 50 in driving distance.