Henley with solid start at U.S. Open

UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – Russell Henley tries not to worry about his score, and he’s not really big on following leaderboards.

So, just in case he hasn’t gotten around to checking it out, his 1-over-par 71 on Thursday at Chambers Bay Golf Course has him in a tie for 46th after the first day of the 115th U.S. Open.

Henley played the front nine in 1-over 36 and offset three bogeys on the back with a birdie on the par-5 18th.

Henley, who tees off at 5:39 p.m. on Friday, is sitting in good position to make the cut after the second round.

“I’m not worrying about what place I am, and I try not to worry about the cut line,” Henley said. “I’m just shooting the best I can and see what happens when I get done.”

And there’s really no point in worrying or over-analyzing a golf course like Chambers Bay.

“They change the course up on you so much,” he said. “You make the best decisions you can and make the best shots you can.”

Henley said he struck the ball well enough to shoot something like 66 on Thursday, which would have put him in a solid tie for third place.

“I played some holes where I hit great shots and made bogey,” he said. “So just commit to every shot the best you can and accept the result.

“It’s a great philosophy for me. It takes a little bit of pressure off the result, but it’s the truth, you know. It’s pretty simple, but it’s the truth. If I’m thinking like that, I’m probably thinking pretty clearly.”

Henley noticed that Chambers Bay is not a great golf course for U.S. Open spectators. Most fans are in grandstands, instead of closely lining the greens and fairways.

“There’s a quietness out there,” he said. “It’s very quiet – fans are far away, so it’s hard for them to get too loud.”

Earlier this week, Henley took a break – if not from golf itself, from championship golf – when he put on a clinic for Special Olympics golfers at Meadow Park Golf Course, a municipal course about 10 minutes from Chambers Bay.

“It probably does more for me than it does for them,” he said. “To see how excited they are to hit some shots, just to get out and play. Seems like it’s a really good learning experience for everybody.”

This story was originally published June 18, 2015 at 11:17 PM with the headline "Henley with solid start at U.S. Open."