Henley Has Eyes Set Again On Augusta National

By Ken Klavon, Pinnacle + Synovus

When Pinnacle + Synovus brand ambassador Russell Henley plots out his golf schedule each year, his eyes first search for the dates associated with the sport’s first major.

That means April. Augusta National Golf Club (April 9-12), site of colorful azaleas and the unofficial introduction to spring. That includes the high stakes talent, too, where most of the world’s best players are competing.

Once the Georgia native’s eyes lock in on the date, he’ll visualize winning arguably the most prestigious major on the schedule. It’s been a goal since he’s been an amateur. This year would be extra special since the final day falls on his 37th birthday.

By being triumphant, it would add to his professional cachet and, like scratching off a lottery ticket, scrub away at any leftover anonymity he may have. It would galvanize a career that, in the beginning, reached a stressful precipice at one point.

That was then. This is now.

Over the past three years, Henley has been on such a meteoric rise that inconspicuousness has taken a back seat. Since the end of the 2023 PGA TOUR season, a hard-charging Henley has jumped from 24th in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) at the end of 2023 to 10th, where he sits today (as of March 31). He started the 2026 season No. 3 on the OWGR. He is, for all purposes, a threat to win on any given week. This isn’t by happenstance.

As he introspectively examined his game early into his 14-year career on the PGA TOUR, he concluded that he needed a pathway to success. It was twofold: assiduously work on his game and get in the best shape of his life. He visited physical therapist Joel Stenslie roughly eight years ago to help with a balky back.

“I asked him to help me get to a point where I could be pain free,” says Henley, “because it’s tough to be at your best if you’re dealing with a back that hurts or injuries. I have to have my body working. That’s my tool.”

Coincidentally, after challenging himself to be better, his game improved with the help of a new putting coach. He also compartmentalized how he practiced. Through six starts this year, he’s in the top five in driving accuracy percentage and bogey average, and in the top 15 in three other vital categories.

As he approaches Augusta National, Henley is motived to put last year’s missed cut behind him. In 2023, he tied for fourth in the major – his best finish in the tournament. Coming so close left the four-time University of Georgia All-American hungrier to win.

“Personally, I can be pretty intense, and very focused,” says Henley, who won the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational and finished sixth this year. “I almost try to treat it like a boxing match, where there are going be things that don't go my way. Golf is just brutally hard, and you can put a lot of work in and not get any result, and I know that going into the event. But I have prepared myself for adversity.”

Now making his 10th start at Augusta, part of the challenge becomes minimizing the vaunted 7,565-yard, par-72 Augusta National layout.

Golf aficionados like to cite the fabled course’s stature. The players experience the degree of difficulty firsthand. That said, it’s easy to get caught up in Augusta’s pageantry, allure and history. The course itself is so intimidating that some players have admitted they were beaten psychologically before stepping on the first tee box.

"At my first [one], I got the feeling that if I didn't play well, I wouldn't go to heaven,” former PGA TOUR player Dave Marr once quipped.

For Henley, he tries to break it all down beforehand. After all, he views it as a physical and mental test, similar to many other tournaments.

“This week is mentally and physically taxing just because there's a lot more to it,” says Henley, a five-time winner on the PGA TOUR. “Getting in the week before the tournament to play a practice round has always been really important for me, if I can make that happen. Once I get the breath in, I just try to go compete like it is any other tournament.”

Even if he wins, Henley has always carried himself humbly. A victory would no doubt pull back the curtain completely on any residual anonymity, which hasn’t been important him.

As much as he desires to win the major, he tries to put it into perspective.

“I think everybody’s going to forget about my ‘golf legacy,’” says the spiritual Henley. “They’re going to forget about how many tournaments I’ve won, but the spread of love that we should give others is the main focus, I think.”