Russell Henley calls penalty on himself during $20m Travelers Championship
Russell Henley calls penalty on himself and labels it a "good teaching opportunity" for his son who watches his every move on the PGA Tour.
Russell Henley has revealed he was forced to call a penalty on himself during Friday's second round at the $20m Travelers Championship, the final Signature Event on the PGA Tour this season.
Henley, 36, called a one-shot penalty on himself after he deemed his golf ball had moved by "about a dimple" while he took his club back to play his second shot on the par-3 8th.
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The five-time PGA Tour winner hit what he described a "terrible" tee shot that was pulled into some thick rough at the back left of the green.
As he went about playing his chip shot, Henley felt his ball had moved ever so slightly as he took his wedge back.
Despite nobody around him seeing what happened or any cameras down by his ball for a second take, Henley called over a rules official and gave himself a one-shot penalty.
Henley thankfully played a brilliant chip shot to three feet, but his par ended up going down as a bogey.
"I went through it with the officials and just kind of tried to understand the rule better and how it works," Henley told reporters.
"You have to be completely certain that it moved, and I was. And so I call [a one-stroke penalty] and moved on."
Henley told the media he would faced a couple of other instances before in his PGA Tour career where he was uncertain about taking a penalty.
"There's been a couple times where I've been unsure that it moved," he continued.
"And I had a talk with [tour rules official] Ken Tackett about it, and multiple officials I've had that conversation with, and I've kind of beat myself up about it and feel guilty—kind of like, ‘I wasn't sure. Is that a penalty?’ It was, like, well, if you're not certain, then it's not a penalty. So I had that battle, Well, I think it might of, but I don't know. I can't stand that part of having to decide.
"But, yeah, it was hard; it was hard to put it behind me, just because it was such a hard day, it was such a good par save, and to make a 3 but to count it as a 4 was like, ugh, but part of it."
Henley also claimed calling a one-shot penalty on himself on the 8th hole was a "good teaching opportunity for my son, who was watching."
It stopped a run of two birdies in a row from the 6th, but he replied well with a birdie at the 9th.
Henley ended the second round with a 2-under 68 to lie 4-under par and five shots off the pace heading into the weekend.
But he would put his one-shot penalty behind him and surge up the board with an electrifying bogey-free 9-under 61 on Saturday.
That hauled him up into a tie for second on 13-under par alongside US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley.
The American duo trail runaway leader Tommy Fleetwood by three shots on 16-under par.
England's Fleetwood has now set up a golden chance to capture his first ever PGA Tour title in his 159th start on the circuit.
The winner of the Travelers Championship wins a whopping $3.6m, with $2.16m for second and $1.36m for third.
Henley will be hoping his one-shot penalty doesn't came back to haunt him when all is said and done on Sunday.
The World No.6 is going in search of a second PGA Tour title of the season having won the Arnold Palmer Invitational - also a Signature Event - earlier in the season at famed Bay Hill.
GolfMagic Editor and expert tipster Andy Roberts tipped up Henley as our each-way selection at odds of 40/1 earlier this week.
That was after successfull each-way picks at odds of 66/1 and 100/1 at the US Open.
Andy first joined the brand on a month's work experience back in April 2011, and he now assumes the Editor role. When Andy joined GolfMagic it was a small site with potential.
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