The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Henley’s picking upstages his putting
Former UGA star joins O.A.R. on stage during concert.
Macon native Russell Henley will defend his Honda Classic championship this week, but lately the University of Georgia grad has gained more attention for his work with a guitar. Henley played onstage with O.A.R. in a concert held at the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
“They were nice enough to let me play two songs with them that we had planned out, and it was a blast,” Henley said. “Then they actually called me up during the encore for the last song and told me the chords when I was on the stage and turned my guitar back on, so that was really fun. Something I’ll always remember.”
Henley’s win at the Honda Classic was the second of his career and help cement his standing as one of the tour’s upand-comers.
“It jump-started me and gave me a little bit of confidence,” Henley said. “Ended up having a really nice year.”
Henley wound up 19th in the FedEx Cup standings and won $2.6 million in the 2013-14 season. He finished 12th in the Tour Championship at East Lake.
In 2015, Henley has had middling results since he opened with a tie for third at the Tournament of Champions. He hasn’t missed a cut, but tied for 59th in Phoenix and tied for 61st at Riviera. He stands 35th in the FedEx Cup list.
Bulldogs win in Puerto Rico: Lee McCoy and Sepp Straka tied for fourth at 5-under 216 to help Georgia win the Puerto Rico Classic. The Bulldogs led from wire to wire and finished at 12 under as a team, beating runner-up Georgia Tech by seven strokes. The Yellow Jackets were led by Ollie Schniederjans and Anders Albertson, who tied for 11th. Alabama’s Dru Love, son of Davis Love III, was co-medalist at 209. ... Kennesaw State was runner-up to USC at the Jones Invitational, with Teremoana Beaucousin placing third, one shot behind the co-medalists. Georgia State finished 12th but got an extra treat when it flew to the West Coast. Coach Joe Inman arranged for the team to spend a day watching the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club, and then arranged for them to play historic Bel-Air Country Club.
On the Tours: Tiger Woods won’t compete at the Honda Classic, his hometown event, this week. But longtime agent Mark Steinberg said he expects Woods to be at the Masters. Woods did not qualify for the WGC event at Doral, but might dip his toe back in the water at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he’s won eight times. Woods couldn’t play at Bay Hill a year ago because of back spasms. ... Lydia Ko won her sixth LPGA Tour event last week at age 17, claiming the Women’s Australian Open. She’s ranked No. 1 in the world and is the youngest LPGA player to top $2 million in earnings.
Etc.: Atlanta-based U.S. Kids Golf is going to buy Longleaf Golf and Country Club in Southern Pines, N.C., and use it to house its first national golf academy designed to bring young players and families into the game. Longleaf is one of the courses used for the organization’s annual World Championship, which brings more than 2,200 golfers from all over the world to the area each year. ... The Legends at Chateau Elan in Braselton and the Golf Club of Georgia’s Lakeside Course in Alpharetta will be the sites for the U.S. Open’s local qualifiers. ... The 2021 Presidents Cup will be held at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, the first time the event will be held in the Southeast.