Russell Henley ready to make Masters debut

By the time he sank his final putt Wednesday, Russell Henley’s name had popped up on the leaderboard looming across the Par-3 Course’s ninth hole.

Jack Nicklaus, playing in the group ahead, winked at him when they passed near the final green. Gary Player stopped him to say it was great to see the former Georgia golfer and PGA Tour rookie playing so well.

“Yeah, it kind of seems fake out here,” Henley said after shooting 2-under-par 25 in the Par-3 Contest and finishing in a seven-way tie for eighth place while playing with two-time Masters champion Tom Watson and amateur Nathan Smith. “It’s cool, but it feels fake.”

Henley said he is hoping experiences like that start to wear off in time for his Masters Tournament debut. He’ll start at 8:11 a.m. Thursday in a group with Brian Gay and Larry Mize.

Gay played in the Masters in 2010 and Mize, the 1987 champion, has competed in the tournament 29 times.

“I’m trying to get it all out of my system right now,” Henley said. “I feel like I’m playing well and I’m ready to play well and ready to get out there. The whole practice rounds and stuff have been fun, but I’m ready to compete.”

Henley spent Wednesday afternoon in a lighter mood, joking around with older brother Adam, who caddied for him during the Par-3 Contest and much of his Web.com Tour career.

“He’s loose and he’s just always fun to do anything with him,” Russell said of his brother.

Adam said his nerves led him to forgot to bring a towel with him to the first green, and he spit-shined the ball to get it clean.

“I’ve heard my brother say a couple times that he just couldn’t believe some of what was happening was real, and I kind of even had that feeling today,” Adam said. “I couldn’t believe it was me out there in the white jumpsuit and that I was standing there talking to Tom Watson.”

He said his brother’s results, including birdies on Nos. 3, 4 and 5, were encouraging.

“I saw him hitting some sweet zingers,” said Adam, who shared caddie duties with Sanders Walker, the 10-year-old son of a friend. “And his swing is a lot different now than when I last caddied for him. I definitely like what I’m seeing.”

Russell said he has been working out the jitters since Monday, and Adam said he believed Wednesday shook out the last of them.

“I actually think today was the perfect kind of day to have right before your first Masters round,” Adam said. “You play the back nine, then cut it up a little bit in the Par-3 Contest.”