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Monday, Jul. 14, 2008

Under pressure, Henley delivers big comeback

The pressure was palpable for Russell Henley. Like the humidity Sunday at Idle Hour Club, the stress felt tangible, as if it could be grabbed, held and somehow soothed into being more calm and less persistent.

But it would be hard to tell by looking at Henley during the final round of the Georgia Amateur Championship.

Henley never let on for a second that being the favorite, garnering a gallery of 200-plus people each day, playing on his home course or facing his college teammate and roommate got to him.

And Henley's demeanor went unchanged Sunday.

As he walked down fairways with a commanding gait, no one realized that Henley was like a duck on water - calm at the surface, but frantic beneath.

"Everybody's out here expecting me to hit every one perfect," Henley said shortly after tapping in for par on No. 18 to win the Georgia Amateur. "They're out here expecting me to win. They're expecting me to make every putt I look at. You miss a couple of putts, you get off to start like I did (Sunday), it's tough, man. It wears on you."

But through it all, Henley found the balance.

He zoned out the supporters who included close family and friends when he needed to and acknowledged their approval when they so regularly offered their support.

He forgot about being the favorite, and he used his knowledge of his home course to his advantage.

But fellow Georgia Bulldogs golfer and defending Georgia Amateur champion Harris English was tougher to contend with.

Henley was tested every step and shot of the way, forcing him to be on top of his game through the entire 72 holes of the tournament. English can be credited as the catalyst for Henley's admirable play, most notably during the final 18 holes.

English never relented Sunday, and Henley never folded. Both made shots when it counted, and each pushed the other to become better.

After Henley was down by as many as four strokes early in Sunday's round, he drained spectacular birdie putts on Nos. 9 and 11 to get back into the mix.

When English mishit his second shot on the 629-yard, par-5 15th out of bounds just before the horns blew to announce what would end up being a 2-hour, 13-minute weather delay, Henley returned to hit every single shot the rest of the way absolutely perfectly.

It was a battle that will likely become the stuff of local legend years from now. It's a shame anyone had to lose.

But despite all the challenges, distractions and talent that would have otherwise prevented him from realizing a dream Sunday, Henley prevailed, finally able to breathe again as he first got his hands on the championship trophy.

"Obviously, he knows how to play this course better than anybody, probably. But it's different when the stakes are high, and you never really know how you're going to react," Henley's brother and caddie Adam Henley said. "I just want to cry when I think about how proud I am of him to step up in a high-pressure situation like this was."