Henley ready to roll in PGA playoffs at Southwind in Memphis
By Michael A. Lough
Central Georgia Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
This hasn’t been Russell Henley’s best season, but it’s been one that may have well prepared him for the playoff run.
That begins Thursday with the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind southeast of Memphis.
A year ago, Henley’s average finish in the five tournaments before Memphis was 12.6. This year, it’s 25.6, a funky U.S. Open – with an 80 surrounded by 70, 73, and 71 – dropping that average.
In the Rocket Classic in Detroit earlier this month, Henley’s high-level accuracy off the tee basically abandoned him at times – many times – and yet he still battled for four sub-70 rounds and a tie for 20th in an understatedly impressive weekend.
It’ll be a lot warmer in Memphis than it was in Detroit. Henley tees off Thursday at 10:25 a.m. with Rickie Fowler, then at 1:25 p.m. on Friday.
The playoffs begin with 70 players in this week’s event, with those ranked in the FedEx top 50 after the 72nd hole advancing to the BMW Championship’s second leg. Then it’s on to Atlanta and East Lake for the top 30 and Tour Championship finale.
The Tour has major changes set for the 2028 playoff system, and where Atlanta fits in has yet to be determined.
The playoff opener this year is again at TPC Southwind, where Henley has three top 25 finishes and has missed three cuts in eight events.
But in his last 12 rounds at Southwind, Henley has shot 70 or better nine times.
The St. Jude Championship is the third new name for this round, following the Barclays and The Northern Trust.
The tour playoff system started in 2007, with Tiger Woods the first points winner. There were four tournaments from 2007-2018, the Dell Technologies Championship being dropped after 2018.
Woods won two of the four tournaments that first year, the other two going to Steve Stricker and Phil Mickelson.
Henley turned pro in 2013, and missed the Barclays cut that first season. He was happy with the tour changes after tying for 61st and 48th and finishing 72nd in those early Barclays.
Since then in this round, he has missed two cuts (2018 and 2022) and finished in the top 30 five times in nine tries, topped by a tie for sixth in the 2024 St. Jude.
Henley was on a roll entering last year’s St. Jude, ranked fourth in the FedExCup rankings and fifth in Official World Golf Ranking.
He was tied for seventh after a round at Southwind, had a rough second round and decent third round in dropping to 30th, but had a strong Sunday to finish tied for 17th.
Henley improved by two strokes from 2024 after finishing tied for sixth in 2023.
He’s off a respectable tie for 20th and 10-under Rocket Classic in Detroit to start August.
Henley is fifth in the OWGR and 15th in the FedExCup, as well as third in the U.S. team Presidents Cup ranking.
He is about two and a half months removed from his last PGA Tour win, the Charles Schwab Challenge.