He went through the Masters' practice round Monday. Then he welcomed a son into the world

Just days before The Masters begins, Teil Henley, the wife of golfer Russell Henley, gave birth to the couple’s first child, a boy named Robert Russell Henley.

On Tuesday afternoon, Macon Volunteer Clinic, a nonprofit organization founded by Henley’s father, Dr. Chapin Henley, posted a picture on its Facebook account of Henley, dressed in scrubs, holding his new baby boy and smiling.

“Our happiest congratulations to Russell and Teil Henley on the birth of son, Robert Russell Henley!,” the post said. The family confirmed the news through the clinic to The Telegraph.

Before the Houston Open last week, Henley said the baby was due on April 15. But the boy came early, and Henley went to welcome his son to the world.

Henley, a Macon native, 2007 graduate of Stratford Academy and former Georgia golfer, skipped Tuesday’s practice round at The Masters, presumably to be with his wife and new baby boy.

While Henley, who is scheduled to tee off Thursday at 12:32 p.m., has not announced if he will withdraw from the tournament following the birth of his son, he is expected to compete.

Henley joined the PGA Tour in 2013, three years after he won the Haskins Award for the most outstanding player in college golf. He has won three events on the tour and played in The Masters four times.

Henley has improved every time he has played at The Masters. He missed the cut in 2013, then tied for 31st a year later. In 2015, Henley placed 21st. He didn’t qualify for the tournament in 2016. Last year, after qualifying for the tournament a few days before it began, Henley tied for 11th overall — his best finish at The Masters.

“I’ve been playing well, had a good year last year and I feel like I know the golf course well,” Henley said on Monday.

Henley is coming off of a year-best eighth-place showing at the Houston Open, which came a year after winning the same tour event. Prior to his most recent performance, Henley's best outing of the year was finishing tied for 15th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

A year ago, Henley had a viral moment at the Masters when he holed out No. 5 after dropping a shot straight into the cup from 185 yards away. The shot, which came on the final day of last year's tournament, helped him finish three-under par for the final round.

This story was originally published April 4, 2018 at 8:54 AM with the headline "He went through the Masters' practice round Monday. Then he welcomed a son into the world."