Henley honored in break from busy schedule

Russell Henley is really starting to cherish the time he spends in Macon.

This summer, those moments of relaxation have been few and far between.

The rising Georgia senior has spent most of the summer on the move, playing tournaments in six different states and Northern Ireland.

“It’s sort of exhausting,” Henley said Thursday. “I try not to play a lot of golf during the breaks.”

Henley talked about his summer and more specifically about his trip to Pebble Beach, Calif., for the U.S. Open with the Rotary Club of Downtown Macon on Wednesday.

Following a question-and-answer session, Henley was presented the newspaper plates from the final day of the U.S. Open by Telegraph’s publisher George McCanless. Macon Mayor Robert Reichert issued a proclamation calling Wednesday “Russell Henley Day.”

Henley, 21, hasn’t had much time to look back on his summer.

The former Stratford standout hasn’t had more than 10 days off in a row without competitive golf since May.

“I want to play golf (professionally), so this is how it will be for me,” Henley said. “This is a good chance to get used to it, but it’s just a lot of golf.”

The first part of the summer included visits to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the NCAA golf championships, Atlanta for a U.S. Open qualifier, Pebble Beach, Northern Ireland for the Palmer Cup and back to Atlanta for the Dogwood Invitational. After a short break, Henley played in the Southern Amateur in Alabama, a Nationwide Tour event in Ohio and most recently the Porter Cup in Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Despite the constant travel, Henley played well in every tournament he entered. He finished in the top 20 of all but one event. In the Nationwide Tour event, Henley’s third-round 77 knocked him from a top five spot to out of contention.

Henley finished in the top seven in the Southern Amateur and the Porter Cup. He was 12th at the Dogwood and had an 18th-place finish at the NCAA golf championships. Henley finished tied for 16th at the U.S. Open, a feat accomplished by only four amateurs in the past 30 years. He said he wanted to win a tournament this summer, but he was pleased about his performances nonetheless.

“I learned a lot about my game this summer,” Henley said. “I think I’ve found some things I can work on (during my senior season).”

Henley moves back to Athens for his senior season Saturday, but he still has the U.S. Amateur on his schedule before beginning his final college season in September.

Henley will play in the U.S. Amateur for the first time on Aug. 23 at Chambers Bay outside of Tacoma, Wash. A win or runner-up finish in the tournament earns Henley a spot in next year’s Masters and the U.S. Open at Congressional outside of Washington, D.C. A win would also include an exemption into next year’s British Open.

“Playing in the Masters is a dream, so that would be nice to get that exemption,” Henley said. “But I really just want to go out there and have fun.”