Russell Henley

The Georga Bulldog opened his round with a pair of birdies in his first three holes but slowed his pace from there. He missed just one fairway today and landed 14 greens in regulation, while also gaining a pair of strokes putting. It was a strong closing round that was three shots better than the field but he likely felt he left strokes out there, settling for nine straight pars to end the week. On the bright side, Henley collected a T4 finish on the final leaderboard which is his first top-10 finish in a major championship (33rd career major start). 

Henley burst onto the scene with a win in his 2013 Sony Open debut, just the third start of his PGA TOUR career. He's returned nine times since then, landing four other top 20s including last year's runner-up finish. When asked why it fits his game he responded, "I think it puts a premium on ball control. I think it puts a premium on hitting the fairway, hitting good approach shots, making good decisions, good course management. I think it puts a premium on that. I think that's more my game when I'm playing well." Henley opened the week as a 21/1 outright betting option, sixth on the odds sheet. 

It's never easy to finish off a PGA TOUR win but this was about as stress-free as they come. Henley opened the day with a six-shot lead which allowed him a lot of freedom. He swallowed his first two bogeys of the week but added three birdies to reach 25 circles on the week (T1 in the field). "I don't sleep well on a lead. I need a lot more practice. I have no idea how Tiger did this 80-some times. It's tough for me just to kind of calm down. You definitely don't feel the same as when you're practicing at home, but that's the fun of it, that's why we play." Henley is now 2-for-7 when holding a 54-hole lead or co-lead on the PGA TOUR. This will go in the books as his fourth career PGA TOUR title but first since the 2017 Honda Classic. Steady striking was the recipe for Henley this week as he piped 44 of 56 fairways on the week. 

Henley started the third round of the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba with a five-shot advantage, and he kept his foot on the gas en route to a 6-under 65 that added one shot to that lead as he is now six clear of Will Gordon and Patton Kizzire. Henley has been unstoppable all week, as he was the only bogey-free player through 36 holes and still has not dropped a shot through 54 holes. At 22 under, his is the 18th 54-hole score of 191 or better in PGA Tour history. All 17 prior instances have ended in victory. Henley has three prior victories on Tour but none since the 2017 Houston Open. With a number of close calls since, including a playoff loss earlier this year at the Sony Open, he appears poised to end his victory drought despite the fact that he is just 1-of-6 in closing out a 54-hole lead.