One mistake nearly cost Russell Henley his tournament. It was only thanks to a timely warning from a fellow pro that he avoided a disqualification at THE PLAYERS Championship.

After beginning the tournament on the par-4 10th, Henley shot a one-under 35 and made par on the first hole. However, his progress was halted because of the rain, and he ran to the clubhouse from the green on the second.

While he didn't keep track of time, fellow pro Ben Griffin knew it was only a 19-minute delay, and urged Henley to get back on the green.

Talking to the media after wrapping up the first round, Henley said, “I didn't stay in place. I was beside the clubhouse, we ran in because I thought it was going to be like a tornado, it was raining really, really hard. When I went inside I was hitting the lunch table and Ben Griffin said, ‘You have a restart in four minutes.’”

Henley had no time to warm up in those 10 stressful minutes. After all, he'd have faced disqualification if he weren't present at his position during the restart. But after reaching the course on time, he got to know that he was technically held in position. 

“At the time, it was coming down really hard, like sideways, so I just ran into the clubhouse,” Henley continued. “I just, I didn't think that would be a hold-in-position type of weather based off my experience. But it was.”

And he ended up laughing at his near misfortune. But is Henley satisfied with his first-round performance?

How Did Russell Henley Perform at THE PLAYERS Championship?

“I'll take 4-under par here any day,” the 36-year-old confessed. 

Although the course was “visibly intimidating,” Russell Henley committed to his shots. He had to face bad winds that changed direction and, of course, the heavy rain. Yet, he managed to hit a four-under 68 to currently land on T6. 

“I had a really nice up-and-down on 6, I guess my 15th hole, from the left bunker,” the five-time PGA Tour winner revealed his favorite shot of the day.

“That's something that I've felt uncomfortable with a little bit this year is my bunker play, and I've been working on it pretty hard and it was good to see that one go in there tight.”

Can he maintain his lucky streak in the coming rounds? Tell us what you think in the comments.

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Written by

Krushna Pattnaik

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi