Russell Henley figured that the third round of the Sony Open in Hawaii might go a little differently than the first two when he torched Waialae Country Club to the tune of 62-63.
“It’s just not how golf works typically,” he said.
So, Henley, 32 and in his 10th year on the PGA Tour, was pleased to sign for 3-under 67 during a scratchy, grind-it-out round on Saturday and take a two-stroke lead over Hideki Matsuyama heading into the final round in Honolulu.
“I hung in there,” Henley said.
Did he ever. After playing the first six holes in 1 over, Henley heated up on the back nine, making two birdies in his final four holes. Henley, who has a phone alert that reminds him he’s a great putter, got the message at 17 rolling in a 17-foot birdie putt to climb to 18-under 192 through 54 holes.
“Russell seems to be the guy, when he gets out in front and is playing well and confident, he seems to rise to the occasion,” said fellow Georgia Bulldog Kevin Kisner. “I think he’s going to be a tough competitor to try to beat.”
Henley, who won the Sony Open in 2013 in his first professional start, hasn’t registered a top-10 finish in this tournament since. He’ll be seeking his fourth Tour title and first since 2017 and will have 10 players within six strokes of the lead. His closest pursuer is Japan’s Matsuyama, who fired a bogey-free 7-under 63 in the third round.
“Putting was strong point today,” said the reigning Masters champion, who shot his lowest 54-hole total (194). “Even my missed putts found the hole.”
Matsuyama’s putter rarely has looked better. He ranked 175th in Strokes Gained: Putting last season and is actually worse this season (No. 205).
This week is a different story. Matsuyama gained nearly four strokes to the field on the greens in the third round and ranks second in SG: Putting for the week. Matsuyama drained three birdies from inside 10 feet at Nos. 2, 7 and 9 on the first nine. He planted his approach to 4 feet at 12, drilled a 37-foot birdie putt at 13, and added birdies of 13 feet at both 15 and 18. In all, he took just 25 putts. He’s on pace for the best putting week of his career (+6.465). If Matsuyama continues his torrid pace – a big if – to go along with his precision ball-striking, it’s almost not a fair fight. He notched his 12th consecutive round in the 60s, the best active streak this season.
Matsuyama is making his ninth start at Waialae, where he’s never recorded a top-10 finish. In fact, he missed the cut the first three times he played here and finished T-78 when he finally survived to play the weekend. Asked what he figured out about the course, he said, “That’s a good question but I don’t have an answer for it.”
On the eighth hole, Matsuyama grimaced in pain after teeing off and did some stretches to try to loosen his back, but afterward he claimed there was nothing to worry about.
“You know, I felt a pull here and there, but nothing serious,” he said.
Hideki Matsuyama fires a 63 at Waialae today, now 1 back of the lead.
Matsuyama on courses under 7,100 yards the last 2 PGA Tour seasons:
11 rounds
65.8 (!!) scoring average
79.3% greens in regulation
46-under-par— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) January 16, 2022
Canadian Adam Svensson, who has Bryson DeChambeau’s former caddie, Tim Tucker, on the bag this week, shot a bogey-free 65 and is among a group of four golfers tied for third at 14 under. That quartet includes Matt Kuchar, the 2019 Sony champion, who is bogey-free through 54 holes for the first time in his career, but said he’ll need to go even lower than his third-round 67 to hunt down Henley.
“Russell is playing great; you got Hideki Matsuyama right there. You can count on him playing quality golf as well. I know it’s going to take a low number for me tomorrow,” Kuchar said.
Henley was in a similar position after 54 holes at the Wyndham Championship in August, but blew a three-stroke lead and failed to make the six-man playoff that was won by Kisner, who is lurking five back. Even Henley conceded it could be a tough night sleeping on the lead.
“I don’t know how Tiger’s done it and won 82 times. I’ve got a long way to go,” Henley said. “It’s tough. I’ve slept on a few leads the last couple years. It’s hard. I struggle to sleep. I’m already not the best sleeper.”
[listicle id=778199149]
[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]