Russell Henley used a short eagle putt and six birdies to leap in front of the pack in the first round of the Wyndham Championship on Thursday in Greensboro, N.C.
Henley posted a bogey-free, 8-under-par 62 but led by just one stroke over Canada’s Adam Svensson and South Korea’s Byeong Hun An at the PGA Tour’s regular-season finale at Sedgefield Country Club. Andrew Novak (6-under 64) is in fourth.
Henley was already 5 under when he arrived at the par-5 15th hole. His second shot over a pond nestled to within 6 feet of the pin, setting up his eagle. An 18-foot birdie putt at the par-4 17th made sure he had the outright lead at day’s end.
The 34-year-old has four wins on the PGA Tour, most recently last November at the World Wide Technology Championship, and he’s finished in the top 10 at the Wyndham three years running. But in 2021, he led after each of the first three rounds before faltering down the stretch with a final-round 71, finishing tied for seventh.
“I think about it a lot,” Henley said. “I mean, I was leading by three going in the final round a couple years ago and was leading the tournament by a few going into No. 11 the last, or a couple years ago and didn’t get it done. That’s a good learning experience, you know, and feel like I’ve gotten better as a player because of it.”
Like Henley, Svensson also won last November, grabbing his first PGA Tour victory at the RSM Classic. He started his round on the back nine and birdied five of his final seven holes.
“I hit my irons probably the best I’ve hit them in probably three or four months now,” Svensson said. “I’m starting to trend a little bit better off the tee and my mid-iron game. Yeah, very happy with (Thursday). Just got to keep it up for three more days.”
An charged up the board at the end of the day, rattling off four birdies at Nos. 3-6 and closing his round with a 29 1/2-foot birdie putt at No. 17 and a 9 1/2-footer at No. 18.
“Game plan, keep it in the fairway onto the greens. I believe I only missed one green today,” An said. “Golf could be so much harder if I’m missing the greens, but 17 greens, that’s the goal if you’re hitting every green.”
Australian veteran Adam Scott shot a 5-under 65 during the morning wave and held the lead for much of the day before Henley and company overtook him in the afternoon. Scott is now tied with J.T. Poston for fifth.
Scott is among the dozens of players who entered the tournament outside the top 70 in the FedEx Cup points standings and trying to play their way into the playoffs, which start next week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Scott is No. 81 in the standings and would squeak in at No. 68 if the current results held.
“I feel like when I come out to play golf, I’m there to give it my best shot and if I make (the playoffs), I make it, and if I don’t, I don’t,” Scott said.
Swedish up-and-comer Ludvig Aberg is part of a massive tie for seventh at 4-under 66. Aberg started by playing the back nine in 1-over 36 before piling up five birdies for a 5-under 30 on the front.
Justin Thomas (No. 79 in points) opened with an even-par 70 and is in danger of missing the cut for the sixth time in his past eight starts.
–Field Level Media
