Georgia's Russell Henley shared low amateur honors at last year's U.S. Open.
He captured a Nationwide Tour event, just the second amateur to post a winning score on that circuit.
He was on the leader board of this year's U.S. Open as late as Saturday's third round, and finished as the second-lowest amateur.
Henley recently was named as a collegiate All-America selection.
It has been an exceptional year for the Macon native, one of several players from Georgia and Georgia Tech who will compete in the Dogwood Invitational at Druid Hills Golf Club, beginning Wednesday.
Amid all that success, Henley also became so frustrated with his game during the fall and spring that he told Bulldogs coach Chris Haack he was ready to quit. It was an idle threat, but showed the depth of Henley's aggravation.
What went wrong with his game between his tie for 16th at Pebble Beach and his tie for 42nd at Congressional Country Club?
"It's tough to hit a good score when you are not hitting your driver straight," Henley said.
During a Greensboro tournament in late March, when he was 5 over par after the first round, Henley asked Haack to look at his swing.
The coach said Henley is a seeker -- someone consistently soliciting advice from coaches, current and former players or books to help him improve. However, those sessions usually centered around small things that were easy corrections or improvements.
This problem was different.
"I couldn't hit a fairway," he said.
At the driving range, Haack noticed that Henley's backswing was too long and messing up his timing. They tinkered and two hours later Henley began to feel comfortable again.
He shot consecutive 1-under pars in the second and third rounds.
Haack helped him with his swing, and Henley's older brother, Adam, helped him maintain perspective. The two siblings talk every day. Adam Henley has caddied for his brother several times.
When Russell Henley called to express frustration with his swing, Adam Henley would ask him to think about the bigger picture.
"Don't get so bogged down," Adam Henley told him. "You might be hitting a slice or pushing but don't get too consumed in it. Remind yourself that you're a great player. Remember what you've done."
With a renewed swing and focus, Russell Henley led the Bulldogs to a fourth-place finish at the SEC championships and into the finals of the NCAA tournament, where they were defeated by Augusta State. Henley described that run at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla., as his best moment in a year full of great ones.
"Knowing that all of our hard work has paid off in the past four years, that was pretty special," he said.
Henley next helped the U.S. win the Palmer Cup, a team event featuring collegiate players from the U.S and Europe.
At the U.S. Open, he hit his best shot in a year full of good ones, a high, cutting 5-iron on the 218-yard par-3 10th hole. The challenge was clear: he had to carry the pond that fronts the green and land the ball a few yards between the hazard and the flag. It wasn't a shot he practices, but as soon as he saw the trajectory and how the ball lazily dropped to the right he could tell it was going to be good. It landed a few feet from the hole. He made the birdie putt. It was a pro's shot.
"That was a hard shot to analyze and a hard shot to commit to," Adam Henley said of his brother.
Russell Henley now will turn his attention to the Dogwood, which has greens that he says are terrific. After that he'll compete in the Porter Cup, Western Amateur and U.S. Amateur as he tries to secure a Walker Cup berth for that September event.
"It should be a fun summer," Henley said.
When that's done, he'll turn pro and go to the PGA Tour qualifying tournament to try to secure his playing privileges for next year.
Henley will turn pro because the next time he receives a standing ovation while walking down the 18th at the U.S. Open -- as he did in Bethesda, Md. -- he wants to be the winner.
"That's why I play the game," he said. "I want to win majors. I want to win a lot of majors. I know winning on the Nationwide Tour is a stepping stone. I feel like I'm on my way."
Russell Henley's accolades and accomplishments
- Named honorable mention All-American by PING and the Golf Coaches Association of America.
- Finished as the second-lowest amateur at the U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club.
- Helped the U.S. win the Palmer Cup for the second straight year.
- Went 3-0 in match play as Georgia finished second at the NCAA Championships.
- Won the Brickyard Collegiate in his hometown of Macon for the second straight year; the win was the seventh of his career, matching the school record set by Chris Kirk.
- Won the Stadion Classic, becoming the second amateur to win on the Nationwide Tour.
- Finished as the low amateur at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
Dogwood Invitational
When: Wednesday-Saturday
Where: Druid Hills Golf Club
Field: Features more than 80 amateur players worldwide, including current and former players at Augusta State, Georgia, Georgia State and Georgia Tech. Past participants include Charles Howell III, Ryuji Imada, Dustin Johnson, Bryce Molder and Adam Scott, among others.
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