ORLANDO — Russell Henley’s reaction was subdued as the chip from 55-feet on No. 16 at Bay Hill got closer and closer before disappearing into the hole Sunday, putting him in command of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The best he could do was extend his palm for caddie Andy Sanders to slap.
But surely, those emotions would come out two holes later after his 3-foot putt sealed his first win in a signature event.
Right?
If you thought the reaction to the biggest chip of his career was muted, you might have thought it was Thursday or Friday when his putt dropped on 18.
Henley finally cracked a smile as he hugged Sanders and then turned to shake hands with Morikawa. Then it took his wife, Teil, and three children, to rush the green for Henley to show more emotion.
“His level of focus is so intense,” Teil said. “He has a funny goofy side at home, but on the golf course he just doesn’t get too high or too low.”
Later, while wearing the iconic red cardigan, which goes to the winner in honor of Arnold Palmer, Henley admitted he was in shock.
“It’s still surreal wearing this thing up,” the 35-year-old said after a 2-under 70 got him to 11-under for the tournament, one shot better than Morikawa.
“Just crazy that it happened like that. It’s just hard to take in. I can’t explain it.”
Henley, who won for the fifth time on the PGA Tour, wasn’t the only one in shock. So, too, was Morikawa, for the exact opposite reason.
One of the most accessible and friendly players on the PGA Tour was crushed and declined to speak following the round in which he held the lead until Henley holed that chip. And that came two holes after Morikawa, who shot a 72, bogeyed the par-3 14th while Henley carded a birdie, reducing Morikawa’s lead to one shot.
A four shot swing in two holes.
“I didn’t really feel like I had a great chance,” Henley said, especially after he bogeyed both par-5s on the front nine putting him at 2-over for the tournament.
Those final four holes — Henley held off Morikawa with pars on 17 and 18, two of the most difficult holes of the tournament — just backed what Henley believes is happening to his golf game.
“I think my last three years has been my best three years of golf of my life,” the Georgia Bulldog said.
That has been validated. Henley now has 16 top 10s in the last three years, including four in five events this year. He cracked the top 10 in the world ranking for the first time with Sunday’s win, going from No. 14 to No. 7.
“I don’t really feel like a top-10 player,” he said.
Again, in shock.
Disappointing finish at Cognizant leads to chipping lesson
Henley credits his spot on the 2024 Presidents Cup for giving him confidence and allowing him to close out Sunday’s win
“Being on the team with these guys … who I’ve just literally watched YouTube videos of different parts of their game and watch them practice and try to get better and learn from what they’re doing, how they’re handling themselves, because they’re beating me,” Henley said.
“To be on their team and I really felt like they wanted me to be on the team. It gave me confidence in my game and just to keep doing what I was doing.”
The guys he mentioned: Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and …
Collin Morikawa.
One other push came from last week’s Cognizant Classic when Henley had a chance to win on Sunday but fell back before finishing tied for sixth, four shots behind winner Joe Highsmith.
Henley blamed his chipping, “very basic chip shots” he said he duffed, hit thin, hit too hard.
That led to a lesson from Mark Blackburn between the two tournaments and … well, No. 16 happened.
And now, Russell Henley will be shocked to know he enters this week’s Players Championship one of the favorites.
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Russell Henley takes advantage of Collin Morikawa mistakes to win Arnold Palmer
