Saturday at The Masters saw a series of incredible performances all the way down the leaderboard.
Russell Henley was among them, shooting a second round 66 to move to six-under on the day. He had no bogeys and six birdies on the day, and shot three-under on his final four holes to make a late charge.
By the time he was in the clubhouse, the American was six strokes behind Rory McIlroy. It would take a herculean effort for him to close that gap tomorrow. After his round, he said if he thinks it’s possible.
Russell Henley eyes top of leaderboard on Masters final day
McIlroy took the biggest-ever 36-hole lead into Saturday, so it was going to be a tall task for anyone who wanted to catch him. But Henley gave himself a chance, albeit a slim one.
He analysed his round afterwards, “I think that’s my lowest round here. You know, super calm conditions, and I just felt like I hit my irons great and gave myself a lot of looks for birdie and had some good par saves. Yeah, extremely pleased.”
He continued, “I hit an awful double-cross on 15 off the tee, and just to get the ball back to where I had a wedge in was a really good shot. So really good recovery shot.
“I was actually about to hit a draw, a pitching wedge, on 15 and Andy, my caddie, said he thought I needed to cut it. So I did, and he was right. I think if I hit a draw, it would have gone over the green. Great call by him, once again.
“I hit that one close. Then perfect number on 16. Just a little cut, chip 7-iron. Just hit it really solid and right at it and tapped that one in. Then 18, kind of the same shot. A cut 7-iron and somehow hit it close. I don’t hit that green that often. It’s pretty tough to hit that one, so really happy.”
When asked if he can catch McIlroy, the five-time PGA Tour winner said, “I don’t know. I mean, a lot of guys, seems like they’re ahead of me, and the course is gettable.
“I don’t know how it will change over the next couple of hours, but you know, if I keep playing the way I’m playing, I hope that I can keep moving up.”
The course conditions are promoting low scores, so if McIlroy cannot capitalize it’s anyone’s game.
