Russell Henley looks to convert a perfect week to end drought

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Russell Henley keeps giving himself chances on the PGA TOUR, but eventually, he’d like to convert.

Henley, a three-time winner on TOUR, has a six-shot lead heading into the final round of the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. It’s his fourth 54-hole lead since 2020, including the Sony Open in Hawaii earlier this calendar year, none of which have resulted in trophies.

His six-shot cushion, however, is the largest on TOUR (outside of the TOUR Championship) since Jon Rahm at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday two years ago. Rahm was forced to withdraw after the third round.

Henley, after a 6-under 65 on Saturday, will try to separate himself from the task at hand. Again, to try and win on TOUR. The last time Henley won was in 2017 at the Cadence Bank Houston Open.

“I mean, I'm just going to try to get my mind off of golf a little right now and get some dinner and watch a little football, maybe watch the World Series and just kind of go into tomorrow, new day and just do the best I can,” said Henley, whose alma mater, the Georgia Bulldogs, beat the University of Tennessee on Saturday afternoon.

Henley has yet to make a bogey through 54 holes. However, his results at El Camaleón Golf Course in his career haven’t been the harbinger of a nice week. His best result in four previous tries was a tie for 29th in 2018. He missed the cut in 2019 after calling a penalty on himself, which cost him eight strokes.

“That was a weird one,” said Henley with a smile. “But I do feel good about this place. I feel like I can play well here, but it is difficult.”

Henley said he’s felt better off the tee this week, keeping the ball in play. He was 4 under through nine holes on Saturday, including making a birdie on the par-4 first. He added two more birdies on the back nine, including one from long-distance on the par-3 15th.

He’ll be in the final group Sunday alongside Will Gordon, a winner on the Korn Ferry Tour this year, while Patton Kizzire and Seamus Power will make up the penultimate pairing.

Power will be going for back-to-back wins after putting himself into contention with a third-round 63. The Irishman man an ace on the par-3 eighth, an eagle just three holes later on the par-4 11th, and then a hole-out birdie from a greenside bunker on the par-4 14th.

Henley admitted that this golf course is the kind of place where a lot of birdies could be made (Sunday was the third-straight day where a round of 8-under-63 or better was shot) so he’s not taking his lead for granted.

Still, it’s a place he’s happy to be.

Now it’s time to get the job done.

“Out here you’ve got to keep attacking. Everybody’s so good and everybody can go low, so it’s a tough game out here,” said Henley. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a lead like this. It’s definitely tough to finish golf tournaments, so I’m just really trying not to think about the score and just think about each shot.”