Tour News
Henley makes a big splash at the Sony
“It’s all about getting the ‘W.'”
It’s a favorite phrase of Tiger Woods that reigns true on the PGA Tour, because it doesn’t matter how a golfer wins a tournament. A win is a win, whether it’s by 1 or 100 shots.
For PGA Tour rookies, a win is more than a win. It gives them a two-year exemption to play on the big stage, and can cement a player in the Tour’s top-tier tournaments, as well as in the major championships they dreamed about competing in as a junior golfer. That’s what made rookie Russell Henley’s record-setting performance at the Sony Open so impressive. The 23-year-old didn’t just win — he dominated.
Henley entered Sunday’s final round tied with fellow 23-year-old and 2010 Palmer Cup teammate Scott Langley at 17-under. But Henley started with a birdie on the first hole at Waialae Country Club, while Langley made a bogey on the same hole, giving Henley an early three-shot lead. The separation between the two rookies remained relatively consistent through the front nine, as the players made the turn with two shots between them.
New threats were emerging, however, as veterans Charles Howell III, Tim Clark and Pat Perez moved to within three shots of the lead. But Henley is no ordinary rookie. In 2011, he became only the second amateur in history to win a Web.com Tour event, recorded one of the best finishes in the U.S. Open by an amateur in recent years (T-16) and tied Georgia’s school record for all-time victories with seven during his time as a Bulldog.
On the 10th hole, he cooly poured in a birdie putt, casually walked over to his golf bag and began snacking on an apple. No signs of nerves for the first-timer there. He maintained an even keel over the next several holes, and then made a 40-foot birdie on No. 14 to widen his lead to three shots over Tim Clark with four holes to play. Langley couldn’t keep pace, falling further behind down the stretch and finishing with an even-par 70 for a T-3 with Howell.
Another beautifully stroked birdie putt on No. 15 increased Henley’s lead to four. And with only three holes to play, it was really only a matter of whether he would be able to hold on. Henley answered any questions about the onset of nerves down the stretch, calmly rolling in another birdie on the No. 16 after a well-placed approach shot from 155 yards.
If this weren’t indication enough of how the three-time Web.com winner intended to close the tournament, he took dead aim and hammered a draw to within 17 feet on No. 17, a par 3, to set up another good look at birdie. Almost predictably, Henley rolled the putt home while Tim Clark looked on with a half-smile, knowing that although he had paced Henley for the day at 6-under, the three-shot gap between the two to start play was proving insurmountable.
On the final hole, betraying none of the overwhelming emotions that surely accompany standing on the precipice of one’s first PGA Tour win, Henley calmly got up and down on the closing par 5 for five straight birdies and a final-round record 63.
“That’s the most nervous I’ve ever been,” Henley said after the round. “I couldn’t feel my legs or my arms. They were just numb and just moving fast and I felt like I couldn’t control them. But I’ve been in that situation before, just not quite as dramatic.”
Henley’s final score of 24-under 256 gave him the lowest total score in tournament history at the Sony Open, as well as the lowest total score for any rookie in Tour history. With the win, he earned $990,000, and moved to a tie for first in the FedExCup points list with Hyundai Tournament of Champions winner Dustin Johnson. The win not only gets him into next week’s field at the Humana Classic, Henley will be teeing it up for the first time this season in April at the Masters.
If he thought he was nervous Sunday afternoon in Hawaii, imagine how nervous he’ll be in a few months at Augusta. But as Henley proved on Sunday, that might not be a bad thing.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Steve Stricker WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Drew Brees WITB (Legendary New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Thriston Lawrence WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Patrick Cantlay spotted testing a Scotty Cameron blade putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.
The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.
GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Ben Taylor – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Paul Barjon – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Joe Sullivan – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Wilson Furr – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Willman – SoTex PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Jimmy Stanger – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Rickie Fowler – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Harrison Endycott – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Vince Whaley – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Kevin Chappell – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Christian Bezuidenhout – WITB (mini) – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Scott Gutschewski – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
Pullout Albums
- Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Taylor with new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Swag cover – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Greyson Sigg’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Davis Riley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Josh Teater’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hzrdus T1100 is back – – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Mark Hubbard testing ported Titleist irons – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Tyson Alexander testing new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Cobra putters – 2024 Valero Texas Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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