LAST MAN IN
Georgia native Henley earns spot in Masters
HUMBLE, Texas — Russell Henley no longer has the week off, and he couldn’t be happier.
He’s going to the Masters. Henley overcame a four-shot deficit Sunday in the Houston Open by closing with a 7-under-par 65 for a three-shot victory, one of the most important final rounds of his career. Only later did he realize it might have been his best.
He made 10 birdies, never going more than two holes without one.
“I made 10 birdies today?” he asked. “Oh, wow. Wow. Yeah, then I guess it’s definitely the best.”
The 27-year-old former University of Georgia golfer ran off five of them in the opening eight holes to briefly catch up to 54-hole leader Sung Kang, only to make a double bogey from the bunker on the par-3 ninth at the Golf Club of Houston.
It was far from the end of Henley. The decisive stretch came on the par-5 13th, where Henley and Kang were tied for the lead. Henley pitched to three feet for birdie, while Kang missed from 15 feet. On the par-3 14th, Henley rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt on the fast greens, cut to try to mimic what players will face at Augusta National. Kang did well to save par from six feet, and then Henley raced out to a three-shot advantage with another up-and-down finish for birdie on the par-5 15th.
He closed with a bogey that didn’t hurt and finished at 20-under 268 for the tournament.
Ninth-ranked Rickie Fowler, who started the day three shots behind Kang, was never in the picture. He made a double bogey with a wild drive on the second hole, then hit driver off the deck into the water on the par-5 fourth hole to drop another shot. Fowler trailed by as many as seven until a flurry of birdies late in the round when it was out of reach.
He closed with a 70 and tied for third, along with Baylor School graduate Luke List (68). They were a stroke behind Kang.
Jon Rahm, the 22-year-old rookie from Spain, closed with a 67 and tied for 10th, his fourth consecutive top-10 result as he prepares for his Masters debut.
Henley won for the third time in his PGA Tour career and the first first since a playoff victory over Rory McIlroy in the 2014 Honda Classic. He was in danger of missing the Masters for the second straight year until winning the Houston Open, the only way into Augusta National at this point. He will be the 94th golfer in the field for the year’s first major.
“I wasn’t expecting to go back to Augusta,” the Macon, Ga., native said. “I was planning on not going, but I was going to try my best to win. So the fact I get to go back is pretty cool and I’m excited. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
Kang did his best to hang on, but he never made another birdie after No. 8. His hopes were all but gone when he missed a five-foot birdie attempt on No. 16.
“This week is going to be very memorable for me,” Kang said. “I played really solid the first few rounds, and then it shifted for two rounds. I’ll keep grinding out and working out, and hopefully I can get a chance next time.”
Ryu wins playoff
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — So Yeon Ryu won the ANA Inspiration in a one-hole playoff with Lexi Thompson, who was given a fourstroke penalty late in the final round for an incorrect ball placement a day earlier.
Ryu birdied the 18th hole in the playoff to win her second major title, but her celebration was muted because of the bizarre circumstances on the Dinah Shore Course.
Thompson had a three-shot lead and appeared to be cruising to her second major championship when LPGA Tour rules officials informed her of the penalty with six holes to play.
An email from a television viewer during Sunday’s final round alerted officials to the violation committed Saturday, and the LPGA Tour confirmed it with video review. Thompson had marked a one-foot putt with a coin on the 17th green during her third round, but she replaced the ball perhaps one inch out of position.
Thompson’s composure was visibly shaken when the ruling dropped her one shot off the lead, but she incredibly birdied the 13th hole. She battled back into a five-way tie for the lead, making three birdies and a bogey on the final six holes of regulation at Mission Hills Country Club.
Ryu birdied the 18th hole to move in front, but Thompson crushed her approach shot on the 18th several minutes later. With emotions visible on her face amid loud chants of her name, Thompson gathered herself but left a 15-foot winning eagle putt about an inch short.
Jimenez repeats
BILOXI, Miss. — Miguel Angel Jimenez made a birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat Gene Sauers and win the second consecutive Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic for the second straight year.
Jimenez looked as if he was going to win the PGA Tour Champions event relatively easily Sunday, holding a two-shot lead going into No. 18 at Fallen Oak. But he had a stunning double bogey on 18 to finish at 2-under 70 for the round. Sauers made par to force the playoff, but his second shot on the playoff hole found the bunker, and he couldn’t recover.
Sauers started the final round with a one-shot lead after a superb 63 on Saturday, but he closed with a 71 to fall just short of his first victory of the season.
Steve Stricker (65) and Bernhard Langer (67) tied for third, one shot behind the leaders.