Russell Henley is now a six-time winner on the PGA Tour after winning the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club.
Henley needed a playoff to get over the line in Fort Worth, having ended his four rounds in a tie with Eric Cole on 12-under.
But the playoff lasted just one hole as Henley made birdie on the par-four 18th, securing his first PGA Tour win of the season.
An overjoyed Henley spoke of his delight at winning the Charles Schwab Challenge in the immediate aftermath, having found his achievement difficult to summarize at first.
Russell Henley ‘speechless’ after Charles Schwab Challenge win
Henley said of his win in Texas: “Yeah, still kind of speechless about it. I was on 15, let me think, 15 in the rough, after my tee shot, and was just like, man, I got to save par to not go over par on the day.
“So, yeah, I didn’t really start thinking about birdieing the last three until when I made the putt on 17. I knew that I had a chance to put a little pressure if I played 18 well.
“So just seeing those putts go in and kind of a weird start to the day, and just kept fighting. I just got a little bit of momentum and, yeah, hard to believe I’m sitting here.”
And when asked how much it means to win at Colonial, Henley responded: “Yeah, a lot of history here. Just cool to kind of walk the grounds and learn all about Ben Hogan and the history of the game.
“I’ve seen so many awesome tournament finishes here. So to be a part of that tournament history is really cool.”
The 37-year-old carded rounds of 66, 66, 69 and 67 throughout the week, making birdies on the final three holes to force the playoff.
Russell Henley suggests how he was able to win at Colonial Country Club
Henley is rightfully delighted to follow in the footsteps of many iconic figures to have won at Colonial over the years.
The list includes the likes of Hogan, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose among others.
Adding further comment on what it means to emulate many golfing greats and indeed to win on a classic course that the PGA Tour rarely visits, Henley said: “Yeah, it’s such a unique course.
“It really takes ball striking to a different… it’s just different this week. A lot of the courses we play, you can really get away with hitting it in the rough and hitting it a long way.
“Clearly, I don’t hit it a long way. But for this course you have to be in the fairway to attack. You have to control your irons.
“You have to shape the ball. It really tests every part of your game and asks you to be fully committed and fully clear on what you’re doing. Even then sometimes the wind can be very tricky.
“So with the history of the tournament, like I said, I’ve watched so many people come down the stretch and win this one, and it’s just so cool to know that I’ve won it.
“I still am having a hard time taking that in right now. But it’s so special for so many reasons.”
Other reasons may just include the $1,782,000 prize money and 500 FedExCup points he has received for the victory.
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