Russell Henley slept great last night. Said he felt fine on the practice range and walking to the first tee. Then he stepped through the ropes onto the No. 1 tee box to the hearty applause of a gallery that surrounded him 10 rows deep.
That his tee shot ended up in a bunker right of the fairway was a minor glitch. He was pleased just to have not whiffed.
“A little nervy at the start,” said the former Bulldog and first-time Masters participant, shortly after signing for an even-par 72. “I walked on the tee and I just got chills. Everybody was clapping and it just kind of hit me all the sudden that I’m here.”
Henley’s nerves showed as he bogeyed his first two holes of the day. But he eventually settled down. He birdied 8 and 9 to make the turn at even par, birdied 15, bogeyed 17 and slammed in a 45-foot putt for par on 18.
The last hole for Henley was a microcosm of the day. He drove the ball right into the trees, left his punch-out in the rough and had his approach to the back pin spin back to the front. But after a quick look from above and below the hole, Henley slammed in his putt, which bounced an inch in the air off the back of the cup.
“I just kept telling myself over and over again, ‘I really want to make par; I want to make par,’” Henley said. “I was trying to think positive. When I walked up to my putt I said ‘I want to make this putt.’ I was just trying to reinforce myself with positive thoughts. When I do that it seems like more things happen good than not.”
Playing partner Larry Mize was impressed with what he saw.
“He’s solid,” said the 1987 Masters champion from Augusta. “Number one, his demeanor out there and his attitude and his mental game, I was very impressed. Obviously he hits the ball great. But bogeying the first two holes and coming back to shoot even-par is very impressive. He played good.”
Henley was clearly relieved to have the first round behind him. He aims to be a little less emotional in Friday’s start.
“It brought back memories of standing outside the ropes and looking in at guys (who were) getting announced,” he said. “It was like, ‘whoa, I’m the one inside now and I made it.’ I had to fight off a few tears, but I did and then I was ready to go.”
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