Russell Henley misses cut in Masters debut

Russell Henley’s first trip to play in the Masters Tour­nament will end with him watching.

After shooting even par Thurs­day, the former Uni­ver­sity of Georgia golfer struggled driving the ball and shot 9-over 81 on Friday to finish at 9-over.

Henley, who turned 24 on Friday, said he was disappointed with a round that included nine bogeys and a double bogey on No. 5 but believes he will have other opportunities in the tournament.

“I’m going to be back,” Hen­ley said. “I’m not in it for next year, but I believe very firmly that I’ll be back here competing for the championship, for sure. That’s something I dream about and think about every day, and I believe it’s going to happen.”

Even before the round started, Henley said he knew something was wrong with his swing. He went on to hit seven of 14 fairways and reach four of 18 greens in regulation with an average drive of 255.5 yards – 54 yards shorter than his first-round average.

“I didn’t feel very comfortable with the driver,” he said. “Obviously, it cost me a bunch of shots today. You have to do everything great out there, but you definitely have to drive well.

“My swing didn’t feel very good on the range to start the day, and I might have cured it a little bit, but I definitely didn’t expect to play as bad as I did.”

By the time he fell to 4-over with a double bogey on the par-4 No. 5, Henley knew something was wrong but couldn’t put his finger on what he needed to correct.

“If I would have figured it out, I wouldn’t have shot 81,” he said.

Henley said he enjoyed the experience this week and found things to work on heading into next week’s RBC
Heritage at Hilton Head Island, S.C.
“I got to play two rounds of golf with Tom Watson and in the Par-3 tournament,” Henley said. “Just spending time with him is something I’ll never forget.”