“Conversations with Champions presented by Sentry” is a weekly series from Golfweek. This week: Russell Henley, winner of the 2022 World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba.
Russell Henley snapped a five-year winless drought at El Camaleon Golf Course in Riviera Maya, Mexico, on Sunday.
His four-stroke win at Mayakoba put an end to a string of near-misses for the 33-year-old.
Henley at one point led by six shots, the largest on the PGA Tour since Jon Rahm at the 2020 Memorial. Players holding a six-shot lead entering the final round in last 15 seasons have now won 23 of 25 times.
Here is everything Henley said Sunday after his win:
“A lot of these events that I haven’t come through on, like I was telling [caddie] Todd [Gjesvold] earlier, just means so much more. I tried to learn from those situations where I didn’t get it done and didn’t come through down the stretch, just tried to keep working on my game and keep practicing hard and keep believing that I can do it. Took a little longer than I wanted, but I’ve been playing some good golf for a few years and it’s nice to get a W.
Q: It’s different when it’s a six-shot lead. I can imagine the last 24 hours were interesting in terms of just blinders, strategy and just going out there and taking care of business?
RH: Yeah, it’s tough. I don’t sleep well on a lead. I need a lot more practice. I have no idea how Tiger did this 80-some times. It’s tough for me just to kind of calm down. You definitely don’t feel the same as when you’re practicing at home, but that’s the fun of it, that’s why we play. We want to see what we’re made of out here and get tested under pressure.
Q: What were those calming moments for you today? What was the key to you in that round? The bogey at 5, but you hop right back at 6. What were some of the moments that kind of stand in your mind as to what helped you get it across the finish line?
RH: I kind of had it in my mind today I needed to get under par, for sure. I figured that somebody would shoot a low one and so, you know, making a bogey on 6, I kind of got a mud ball and just misplayed it with my hybrid and ended up missing a short putt. Just kind of a disappointing way to start the day because I hit every shot really nice and gave myself a lot of birdie putts before that. Andy just said, just shake it off and let’s just keep doing what we’re doing. And hit a great drive on the next hole and kind of felt like I can do this, I can keep playing well, that’s just one hole. So it was nice to come back from that.
A bounce-back birdie for leader @RussHenleyGolf.
He extends his lead to 4 shots @WWTatMayakoba. pic.twitter.com/SKCYk0P8d7
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 6, 2022
Q: Easy to say these weeks are a springboard of something. You thought you were going to have this moment many times over the last couple weeks, but what can this week do for you moving forward?
RH: Yeah, I mean, I hope just keep giving me confidence. It’s just so hard to get in contention out here, first part, and then to close it out, it’s a really hard deal. I feel like it gets harder every year. I’m just going to try to just pull from the fact that when I didn’t feel super comfortable and I had a lead that I executed and I got it done.
Q: Twenty-five birdies and just two bogeys, incredible. With that, just a few thoughts on clutching your fourth career PGA Tour title.
RH: It’s surreal to hear you say that. You know, you always have doubts, am I going to win again. I’ve had a lot of tournaments where I haven’t gotten it done, so this one’s really special. To be leading by six, which is my largest 54-hole lead, I’m sure, and to just play solid today and get it done gives me a lot of confidence. I’m really excited, really thankful. Yeah, I don’t know what to say, it’s just surreal.
Q: This was your fifth start here at Mayakoba and haven’t had an entirely successful past four starts. Was there something different? Was it just you and how you were playing? Did the course feel different? What was the difference that you could maybe put a finger on?
RH: I’ve always felt like I could play well here. I think I’ve been in a little bit of an interesting spot with my game other years. One of the years I was playing pretty well after two days and ended up getting basically disqualified, so the track record may look a little better if you add that week in. I think golf’s just really hard. This week I felt like I was confident off the tee and I felt like I had — my putting stroke was working well. So just kind of rode the wave and here we are.
Q: Nice weekend to be a Georgia Bulldog, I guess. Did you watch the game last night? What did you get up to last night as you were preparing for today knowing obviously you had such a big cushion?
RH: I was playing while the game was going on, so I didn’t get to see it. I heard on No. 13 or so that we were winning 21-3, so I was very happy to hear that. It was actually a little bit surprising that we bet them so handily. I guess they got a little closer at the end. The Dawgs are playing great. I’m still kind of living off of last year’s National Championship, though. It’s a fun time of the year to be a Georgia fan.
Q: In terms of your 54-hole leads, obviously you haven’t been able to convert one in a while, but you did this week obviously. Did you feel like this was a bit of a monkey off your back scenario?
RH: I do. I’ve just choked, you know. The nerves have gotten to me and I’ve made bad mistakes, bad mental mistakes and just haven’t gotten it done on Sunday. So put myself in position a decent amount, just haven’t gotten it done. So to come out and kind of do everything pretty well today tee to green and keep it pretty clean and just play steady was what was nice. I think, I don’t think I would have done it unless I had kind of failed so many times.
Q: When that final putt dropped on 18 and you won, what was the emotion like for you?
RH: Yeah, I mean, kind of walking up 18 I kind of felt like I wanted to cry a little bit. It was almost like just a little bit of emotion, just so much happiness looking back at the times where I kind of choked. I remember at Greensboro a couple years ago, just should have easily won the tournament, was just playing great and didn’t get it done. It was such a tough feeling because I put in a lot of work like we all do and just, you know, choked. So it was just a lot of emotion thinking about how those moments have kind of, I’m still here, I’m still fighting and I just can’t believe that I got it done. I don’t know, I don’t know if that helps.
Q: I want to know if you feel best like revenge on this course? Do you feel like this is revenge for you to come here again?
RH: Absolutely. I love being here, I love the golf course, I love the resort, the food is awesome, the people are so nice and this is always one that I get excited about coming to. I can’t say that about every event. Now every Tour event is great, but this one’s very special. Amazing location, very beautiful, so really fun.
Q: Did you consider that you get your revenge because of what happened in 2019?
RH: I never really thought about it, to be honest. I just felt like that was just some, just some weird stuff happening. But I definitely don’t regret turning myself in. I mean, I think that’s, you know, what we’re all supposed to do. But it was kind of, in my opinion, a little bit of a stupid situation considering I didn’t know that I had played a different ball. So it’s not like I was intentionally doing anything wrong, but you should always turn yourself in if you do do something against the rules. I did and I’m happy for that, and now I’m very happy.
Q: Could you tell us a little bit about what happened in that tournament in 2019? How was it that you hit a different ball?
RH: Yeah. So Titleist makes a lot of different balls, prototype balls. How they mark them, they’ll put a little dot or a little dash next to where it says Pro V1x on the ball. So when I was signing my scorecard, I just looked down at the ball and for some reason, the Pro V1x was facing me and it had a little dot beside the Pro V1x. I thought, do all my balls have that dot? I haven’t even, I don’t remember them having a dot. So then I started comparing them to the other eight balls I had and it was the only one with a dot. Turns out it’s a prototype ball that they make. I just play the 17 Pro V1x. So I told the rules official I changed balls about four times that day. They said since you don’t know when you played it, we’re going to give you a four-hole penalty, so it’s two shots a hole, eight shots, trip back home to Columbus, yep.
Q: You hit a great second shot on No. 6 after a not-so-good second shot on No. 5. Can you take us through that moment in the round, 5 and 6?
RH: You know, No. 5, I hit a good drive, I was happy with the drive. Had some mud on the right side of the ball and I tried to aim out to the right to give myself some room, because typically when the mud’s on the right side of the ball, it goes left. I didn’t aim far enough to the right, maybe I didn’t put a great swing on it, it’s tough to know, but the ball just went left the whole way. And I don’t really hit a shot like that too often, or I haven’t been lately, so it was frustrating. I feel like I maybe should have played a little more conservative than I did. I thought I made the right decision at the time. But then after that, my caddie, Andy, just said, “Shake it off, let’s just keep doing what we’re doing,” because the first four holes and then the tee shot on 5 I hit a fairway, a green and I gave myself a birdie putt and was playing well. So he said, “Let’s just keep doing what we’re doing,” and I said OK, going to keep fighting, keep trying to hit fairways and greens and it was nice to come back with a birdie on 6.
Q: After your fourth win on the PGA Tour, what would be the next goal? Do you have the majors in sight? Obviously, you contended in the 2021 U.S. Open and the other majors, but making a Ryder Cup team? What would be the goal for next year?
RH: I think I’ve always dreamed of winning a major and always dreamed of making a Ryder Cup team or Presidents Cup team. Those are high on the list. I would love to do those things. I mean, it’s so hard to make one of those teams and to win a major. It’s just so hard to win out here, everybody is so good and it’s so competitive. I definitely would like to do that. I’d like to just keep putting myself in position to win any Tour event because it’s just so difficult and it’s so much fun to put yourself and kind of see what you’re made of, see what your game’s made of and see if the hard work you’ve put in has paid off and that’s kind of why we play.
Q: Were you looking for perfection knowing that you didn’t bogey in the three rounds? Were you looking for perfection this Sunday?
RH: Absolutely. I mean, I thought I could do it, I thought I could do it. I was close to doing it, to having no bogeys, but in reality, you know, it’s pretty hard to do over the course of 72 holes, especially with how much water and hazards there are out here. So I was definitely — I definitely thought about it, but didn’t quite work out.
Q: Do you think this win can be like a new part in your career knowing that you started with three wins at a very young age in 2013, you were I think 23, 24, and now with this win you can have like another part in your career?
RH: I don’t know, I’m getting old. Everybody’s so young on the Tour now, everybody’s in their early 20s and coming out ready to win majors. I’m not really sure what the future holds. I feel like I have some great golf ahead of me, but I’m just going to try to keep doing what I’m doing and take care of my body and, Lord willing, I can just keep playing some good golf.
Q: Russell, are you kind of bummed that there’s only two events left in this part of the season or are you kind of ready for a break and can kind of lean into the holiday season?
RH: Yeah, I haven’t played a ton this year. I had some family stuff going on this summer and I’ve only played twice this season, so I’ve been kind of excited to play. Just, yeah, I mean, every tournament we play out here is a fun event, every one is run so well like this one. I’m always excited to play, it’s just you can play too much. Yeah, I mean, I think if I had it my way, every event would be at an awesome location like this and super exciting. Yeah, I’m excited to keep playing, I love playing on the PGA Tour.
Q: Your thoughts on the trophy creation?
RH: Yeah, it’s awesome. My wife, Teil, is an artist and she’s going to appreciate it a lot more than I can.
It’s beautiful. I definitely don’t have any trophies like this one, that’s for sure.
I’m excited to put it in the house.
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