Russell Henley sees baby out of hospital for first time, plays his best round at 2018 Masters

Russell Henley couldn’t believe what he saw when he spoke with his wife, Teil Henley, through FaceTime Friday night.

As Henley looked at his phone’s screen, his newborn son, Robert Henley, laid next to Teil on the couple’s bed in Charleston, South Carolina. The baby drank from a bottle. He slept. Mundane stuff to watch for anyone except the first-time father. But consider that less than 24 hours earlier, Robert Henley had been in a neonatal intensive care unit.

After he shot 1 under at the Masters on Saturday, Henley’s eyes widened and his face lit up as he spoke about his seeing his wife and son at home for the first time. His mouth hung open. He pushed an electric blue golf hat up his forehead.

“They're in our room,” Henley said. “It's surreal.”

The previous four days had been exhausting, wonderful and terrifying.

Robert Henley was born at 4:30 a.m. on April 3. The pregnancy had been rough, Henley said, and the baby, born 12 days earlier than expected, was delivered via C-section. Henley said the back of the baby’s head swelled slightly because of the delivery.

Doctors monitored the swelling, and Russell and Teil didn’t have much cause for concern — until Tuesday night. At 11:45 p.m., doctors woke up the couple. The swelling had gotten worse. The baby needed to enter the NICU.

Henley didn’t sleep that night. He hadn’t slept Monday night, either. Sitting in a Charleston hospital, the Masters was the least of his concerns. He was terrified for his son.

By Wednesday afternoon, between 4-5 p.m., the swelling had dissipated enough that doctors told Henley he could feel comfortable playing in the Masters. He flew back to Augusta on Thursday morning.

Henley played OK but not great through one-and-a-half rounds. In Charleston, his wife and baby remained in the hospital. As Henley walked to the 10th hole on Friday, his brother-in-law, Hampton Vernon, told Henley his son had been sent home. Finally, Henley could relax.

Henley finished Friday’s round 1 over for the tournament and made the cut. He watched his son at home that night. Taking comfort in his son’s health, Henley played his best round of the tournament so far on Saturday.

He dropped under par for the first time in three days, then struggled in the middle of the course. On the 14th hole, Henley flipped his club over his right shoulder when a shot landed well short of the pin.

But Henley birdied two of the final four holes to even his overall score as he enters Sunday’s final round.

“I feel really confident,” Henley said. “I haven't capitalized throughout the week like I know I can, but I'm still in position to have a really nice tournament.”

Henley won’t win the Masters this year, but the fact he’s still here and playing well after the week he had is nothing short of remarkable. And, when Henley tees off at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, there will be a baby boy watching from a home instead of a hospital.

This story was originally published April 7, 2018 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Russell Henley sees baby out of hospital for first time, plays his best round at 2018 Masters."