Brilliant Henley Secures Last Spot in Masters Field

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements

---

RUSSELL HENLEY qualified to join the field at The Masters after coming from four shots back to win the Shell Houston Open. The 27-year-old American knew that his only way into the field at Augusta was to win in Texas. It looked like a long shot, but Henley did it.

He shot a final round of 65 that featured 10 birdies and could even afford to drop a shot at the 18th as he took the title by three shots, leaving third-round leader Sung Kang trailing in his wake.

He was thrilled with his play. "I made 10 birdies today?" he asked. "Oh, wow. Wow. Yeah, then I guess it's definitely the best I canplay."

Henley birdied five of the first eight holes to catch Kang, only to make a double bogey at the par three ninth. It meant he had to start all over again.

At the par-five 13th, Henley and Kang were tied for the lead. Henley pitched to three feet for birdie, while Kang missed from 15 feet. At the next hole Henley rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt and extended his lead to three with another birdie on the par-5 15th.

He finished with a bogey for 20-under 268, three shots ahead of Kang.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPrIUZuAPhk

Rickie Fowler struggled from the start. He made a double bogey with a wild drive on the second hole, and then found water at the fourth to drop another shot. In the end, a series of late birdies allowed Fowler to close with a 70 and a tie for third, alongside Luke List.

"It was just an alignment problem that just caused me to make a couple bad swings, cost me a few shots," Fowler said. "Nice that I got it turned around and started to make some good swings and made some birdies and fought back, got a good finish out of it. Obviously, yeah, I would have like to have gotten off to a better start."

Jon Rahm, the 22-year-old rookie from Spain, closed with a 67 and tied for 10th, his fourth consecutive top 10 as he heads to Augusta National for his Masters debut.

It was Henley's first win since a playoff victory over Rory McIlroy in the 2014 Honda Classic. "I wasn't expecting to go back to Augusta," he 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."