“Pretty crazy” for Henley defending title at Arnold Palmer
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Russell Henley hasn’t been in this position, sort of, since 2023.
A year earlier, Henley won the World Wide Technology Championship, but he chose not to participate a year later and defend it.
Now, he gets to defend a tournament title for the first time since finishing tied for eighth in the 2018 Shell Houston Open after winning it a year earlier.
Henley will tee off for the fifth time this season and first time since Feb. 19 and the Genesis Invitational on Thursday as the champion of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando.
“Pretty crazy showing up here and being the defending champion,” Henley told reporters on Tuesday. “I watched this tournament since I was a little kid, and to see all the amazing finishes coming down 18, and to do that and to play well under pressure and win this tournament, it's just a dream come true.
“It's still kind of crazy to think that I did that.”
Henley is, as usual, considered a serious contender but not necessarily a favorite. He tees off at 10:20 a.m. Thursday with buddy and world No. 1 – and FedEx Cup No. 3 - Scottie Scheffler.
Henley, ranked No. 7 in the world and 46th in FedEx Cup, said he changed plans a little bit after last year with a break.
“I took three and a half months off in the fall,” he said. “This will be my fifth event this year. So I feel like I'm starting to feel a little better and get more and more clarity about the game.
“I'm excited to be in Florida and playing this tournament. I think it's going to be a good weather week. It's going to be warmer than it was on the West Coast. I'm excited to play a firm golf course. I just love the challenge of this place. So I'm really excited.”
He feels good about his game overall, despite missing the Genesis Cut.
“I think the start of this year, taking a long break, I came out of the gates a little bit kind of bouncing back and forth with different feels and different swing thoughts and things like that,” he said. “Just didn't feel like I was clear on everything I was doing. That led to a little more bouncing around.”
A year ago, Henley had five events under his belt entering the Arnold Palmer, with finishes ranging from tied for fifth (AT&T Pebble Beach) to a tie for 39th (Genesis).
Then he opened the API with a 72, followed by 68 and 67 before a 70 finish.
“I slowly got momentum on the back nine,” Henley said. “I kind of came out of the gates a little shaky, making some bogeys on the front. But got some momentum, birdieing 12, birdieing 14. And then a chip-in eagle on 16 really flipped the momentum, for sure.
“Once that chip went in on 16, I knew the tournament was far from over, I only had a one-shot lead, and I had two really difficult holes to play, so I knew I had a lot of work cut out for me.”
He expected Collin Morikawa to keep the pressure on, but he handled it.
“Just a lot of different ups and downs of emotions,” Henley said. “Really proud of myself for just hanging tough all day and seeing it all the way through.”