Russell Henley stormed to his sixth career PGA TOUR triumph after he birdied the last three holes to force a play-off with Eric Cole, then birdied the first extra hole to win a dramatic Charles Schwab Challenge.
The 37-year-old American started the final round at Colonial Country Club three back from overnight leader Cole who had a narrow one-shot lead in a tightly-congested leaderboard. Cole looked firmly in the driving seat in his search for a first PGA TOUR title after what looked to be a drama-free front nine display as he extended his lead to two as he approached the turn. However, disaster struck at the ninth when his second shot found the water, leading him to settle for a double bogey and see his advantage wiped out. While Russell, who began with a positive eagle-birdie start, then sunk three consecutive bogeys as his chances to challenge begun to look slim.
Cole regained his composure following his error with a par at the 10th followed by a birdie at the 11th which saw him regain the outright lead once more. The back nine saw the likes of Michael Brennan. J.J. Spaun, and Gary Woodland all in serious contention but Cole remained top and seemingly on the way to victory. But then came Henley’s birdie charge which began with a 15-foot putt at the 16th, taking him within two of Cole. He followed that up with another long-range birdie putt at the 17th which reduced the gap further to just a single shot. Cole had the opportunity to enter the final hole with his lead extended to two but his 10-foot birdie attempt stayed out. Henley then made it three-in-three with a 17-foot birdie putt at the last to place himself level with Cole as he closed with a 3-under 67. Cole, who had hit six successive pars at this point, required a birdie to seal victory but couldn’t convert his attempt and was left to settle with yet another par to finish with a final-round 70 and enter a play-off with his countryman.
The duo returned for the play-off at the 18th and both found the fairway with their tee shots but it was Henley who had the advantage with a superior iron shot leaving him five feet from the pin. Cole’s shot found him 13 feet from the pin and was not able to convert his birdie attempt which gave Henley the chance to secure victory which he did by calmly rolling in his birdie putt to claim his first win of the season.
“I just kept telling myself, I want to win. I want to make… I want to be here. I want to be hitting these putts and be in contention,” Henley said.
“This is why I practice hard and, yeah, then to come back to the playoff and do that, I’m still just kind of shaking. That was as nervous as I’ve been over a putt in my whole life.”
Cole, meanwhile, remained proud of his display.
“I think I played solid for the most part,” he said. “I drove the ball pretty well. I just needed to get a shave a shot somewhere. But, yeah, no, I was proud of the way I played and it’s disappointing but I still feel good and happy with the way I played.”
Fellow Americans Alex Smalley, Mac Meissner, and Ben Griffin all took a share of third on 11 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday taking place between 4-7 June at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio.