Eric Cole was minutes away from his long-awaited first PGA Tour victory — and then Russell Henley stole it.
Henley birdied the last three holes of regulation and then added his fourth straight on the first playoff hole to dispatch Cole and win the Charles Schwab Challenge on Sunday at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
Both players found the fairway on the first playoff hole — the par-4 18th — although Cole’s drive somehow found its way there through tree branches. Cole wedged to 13 feet; Henley to 5. When Cole missed his birdie try on the high side, it set the stage for Henley, who found the middle of the cup for his fourth consecutive birdie.
“I just kept telling myself, I want to win,” Henley told CBS reporter Amanda Balionis. “I want to be hitting these putts and be in contention. This is why I practice hard, and then to come back to the playoff and do that, I’m still just kind of shaking. That was as nervous as I’ve been over a putt in my whole life.”
It’s the first win of the season (and sixth of his career) for Henley, the 37-year-old pro who is ranked 12th in the World. Although it’s another heartbreaking loss for Cole, the 37-year-old pro who hadn’t won in his previous 119 starts on the PGA Tour but entered Sunday as the 54-hole leader (and three ahead of Henley).
Cole started Sunday 12 under and opened his round birdie-birdie, and he was still leading by two when he reached the par-4 9th hole, when his approach found the water and he made double bogey. Cole and J.J. Spaun went to the back nine tied at 11 under.
“Double bogeys aren’t good,” Cole said. “I just told myself after that, when I got to 10 tee, I just said, this is a good spot to be, I would have probably taken that starting the week, so try and capitalize on being in that position.”
Henley’s rollercoaster round turned for the better late in the day. He eagled the par-5 first hole and birdied the second, but then made three straight bogeys and fell off the pace. Ever after the birdied 11 he still seemed out of — but then he rattled off three straight birdies on 16, 17 and 18 to shoot 67.
“I was feeling a little jittery or quick or something on the front and hit some, well I was hitting the fairway, I was just some poor iron swings,” Henley said. “So just very frustrating to turn at one-over par. [My caddie] said, ‘Let’s reset,’ and I just kind of calmed down a little bit and started to hit some good shots and felt like I was hitting good putts most of the day and they just went in at the end.”
When Cole reached the 18th — coming off six straight pars — he needed to birdie 18 to win, but his approach drifted off the green and he failed to chip it in. One hole later, Henley ended it in the playoff.
Henley, the PGA Tour veteran, had played good but not great golf this season, although this last stretch had been more shaky. He had seven top-25 finishes in 11 starts entering this week (including a T3 at the Masters) but hadn’t cracked the top 20 in his last three starts. Before this week, he missed the cut at the PGA Championship.
For Cole, he’ll have to wait a little longer.
On a Tour where some young stars make a splash in their early 20s, Cole spent those years playing the mini-tours and trying to find a spot onto the big tour. When he finally earned his spot he noticed six top-five finishes and was runner-up twice in 37 starts, which helped him win the Tour’s 2022-23 Rookie of the Year Award as a 35 year old. He was the second-oldest winner in PGA Tour history, behind only Todd Hamilton, who was 38 when he won in 2004. (Cole also followed in the footsteps of his mother, Laura Baugh, who won LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 1973.)
But Cole hadn’t found the same success of his rookie year these last few seasons. But despite his ranking (117th in the OWGR), he entered this week trending. He tied for 14th at the Valero Texas Open, tied for 6th at the Zurich Classic team event and tied for sixth again at the Myrtle Beach Classic, an alternate-field event. He was 31st at the Byron Nelson in his most recent start. He had a good start this week but then vaulted up the leaderboard with a 63 on Saturday, which was two strokes better than anyone else in the third round (and four better than everyone else expect one player).
“I just needed to shave a shot somewhere,” Cole said. “But I was proud of the way I played, and it’s disappointing, but I still feel good and happy with the way I played.”
