It still stings when Russell Henley thinks back to last year’s Sony Open in Hawaii.
Don’t remember what happened? He had a two-shot lead entering the final round, shot a Sunday 65 and had a putt to win but wound up losing to Hideki Matsuyama, who forced a playoff with a back-nine 31. Matsuyama stole the trophy on the first extra hole after he hit a beauty of a 3-wood to two feet from 276 yards out on the par-5 18th.
A few months later, Henley saw Matsuyama at the WM Phoenix Open.
“I just walked up and said, ‘Hey, there, buddy,’ and grabbed his 3-wood and almost broke it over my knee,” joked Henley on Tuesday. “I mean, he played awesome. He shot 63-63 on the weekend and it’s just going to happen in golf where you lose. But no hard feelings obviously. I was just messing around.”
Eight past champions, including Henley and Matsuyama, are in the field for this year’s Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, as well as fan favorites Jordan Spieth and Tom Kim, who is making his Sony debut. Of the 39 players to tee it up at last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, 19 have hopped islands to Oahu for the PGA Tour’s Hawaii Double.
Despite last year’s disappointing finish, Henley is back for an 11th crack at the Sony Open and celebrates the 10-year anniversary of his 2013 win, the first of his PGA Tour career.
“Felt comfortable immediately because it seemed like a course that I was familiar with, bermudagrass and wind and warm weather, kind of what I played a lot on in Charleston,” said Henley. “Just had really comfortable pairing playing and Scott Langley, one of my buddies, and we both were playing well and just kind of rode the wave.”
Looking back, Henley remembers his stay in Waikiki at the Holiday Inn Express and his California Pizza Kitchen dinners. He also remembers feeling really good about his game, and for good reason, seeing as he had just won two of his last three tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour in the fall.
The same could be said for this season following Henley’s win in the fall at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba.
“Yeah, Mayakoba was awesome,” Henley said with a smile. “Looking back, I feel like I just kept taking what I was struggling with from Jackson [Sanderson Farms] and the CJ Cup and was making adjustments in my game, and started to feel really good with my putter and felt really comfortable on the course.”
Comfort goes a long way for Henley, and it’s an easy feeling to find on the islands. Don’t be surprised if he rides another positive wave this week at Waialae.
