Miami (AFP) – Russell Henley fired a two-under-par 70 to snatch victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday, conjuring a magical eagle in a late charge down the stretch to reel in Collin Morikawa. The 35-year-old Henley bagged the fifth and biggest PGA Tour win of his career after erasing Morikawa’s three-shot lead over the final five holes at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida. Henley’s closing 70 left him on 11 under for the tournament, with Morikawa’s final-round 72 putting him on 10 under.
After being congratulated by his watching wife and children on the 18th, Henley admitted he had been “unbelievably nervous” before sealing his win. “I can’t breathe right now,” Henley told NBC Sports. “It’s just so hard and difficult around this place. I just tried to hang tough and keep committing to every shot. This game is just so hard and that was unbelievably difficult. I’ve tried to just work really hard in all aspects of my game to try to put myself in position to win tournaments and compete at the highest possible level on the biggest and best courses. Just crazy that it happened like that. It’s just hard to take in.”
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Henley, whose last tournament win came at the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico in 2022, looked set for another near-miss with Morikawa seemingly in control through 13 holes. But Morikawa’s lead was slashed to one shot on the 14th when he missed a difficult 12-foot putt for par before Henley rolled in an awkward 10-foot birdie putt to complete a two-shot swing.
After both players parred the 15th, Henley then edged ahead on the par-five 16th with a stroke of genius, chipping in for eagle from the back of the green to take the lead. Morikawa had a birdie putt to reclaim a share of the lead but could not sink it, and the two men headed to the par-three 17th with Henley leading by one. Both men missed long birdie putts on 17 but calmly drained their par putts to leave Henley one shot clear with one to play. Morikawa made a challenging 10-foot putt on 18 to leave Henley with a nervy four-footer to seal victory, which he duly rolled in.
The victory — which earned Henley a cool $4 million winner’s check — was a handsome reward for the veteran’s doggedness after a shaky start where he carded two bogeys inside the first six holes. Henley described those two early blunders as “momentum killers.” “I didn’t really feel like I had a great chance at that point, and Collin was just playing so steady, like he always does,” Henley said. “So just to hang in there enough to give myself some looks is what I’ll take from this day.”
Canada’s Corey Conners finished third on nine under after a closing 71, while Michael Kim was fourth on eight under with a three-under-par 69. Further down the leaderboard, world number one Scottie Scheffler finished his preparations for The Players Championship next week with a two-under-par 70 to finish tied for 11th on four under. Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy was a further shot adrift on three under in a three-way tie for 15th.
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