	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

JOHN DEERE CLASSIC

July 11, 2019

Russell Henley

Silvis, Illinois

Q. What a nice round of golf, almost got out of there bogey-free. That ninth hole was difficult.
RUSSELL HENLEY: Yeah, I probably should have hit 3-wood there. It got firm, tight driving hole, and just didn't put my best swing on it. But yeah, it was a nice day, and I'm thankful.

Q. You made 97 feet in putts. Your season has kind of been a little bit stop-and-start, you've had some really good rounds, trouble putting four of them together. Is that accurate?
RUSSELL HENLEY: Yeah, I haven't felt myself this year, but it's been a great year. Had a little girl about a month ago. My son is growing up fast. He's 15 months. You know, life at home is sweet, and just trying to keep working hard out here.

Q. Has it been a pleasant distraction for you at the house then?
RUSSELL HENLEY: Oh, yeah, definitely pleasant. I wish my wife would get a little bit more sleep, but she's amazing. I just get to play golf, she's got the really hard job.

Q. What are your thoughts on the golf course headed into the second round?
RUSSELL HENLEY: Well, I haven't played here a lot of times, but I know it hasn't gotten a ton of rain this week, so I would imagine it would just be a little bit firmer and firmer, so just got to pay attention to what you hit off the tees and make sure you can get it in the fairway.

Q. Not the finish, of course, that was indicative of the rest of the 17 holes, but for the most part what went so right today?
RUSSELL HENLEY: I've been hitting it well lately. My scores haven't really shown it. I feel like I hit a lot of approach shots close, made a few putts when I gave myself the opportunity, and really just wasn't a very stressful round. I didn't feel like I had to work too hard to make par, so just put the ball into play, and I'm thankful for a nice round.

Q. Did you see this coming with the games you've had on this course so far?
RUSSELL HENLEY: You never know. This has been a weird year for me. I just haven't felt myself playing golf. A little lost. But I've been putting in a lot of work on my game, and I felt confident going into today. I don't think I've ever lost the belief that I can have a nice tournament or have a nice round. It's just a matter of a few bumps in the road here and there. But I'm just trying to keep working hard and keep my head down.

Q. What will you take from today into tomorrow?
RUSSELL HENLEY: Just the fact I'm doing a lot of things right and I don't have to feel like I have to do anything crazy to shoot a good score, and just keep making good decisions on what to hit off the tees and give myself birdie putts. It's not a very complicated game plan, but if I keep hitting it well off the tee like I have been, and it opens the course up for me.

Q. You mentioned feeling lost recently; is it anything in particular?
RUSSELL HENLEY: Just confidence in my game, just not feeling comfortable, like I don't have a lot of belief in what I'm doing, but lately I've been continuing to work hard, and it's starting to come back a little bit. But it's a really, really hard game.

Q. How good does today feel then?
RUSSELL HENLEY: It feels good, but I know as well as anybody, you've got to play a lot of golf for it to matter. It's a great start, but got a lot of work to do.

Q. If it gets much firmer and faster like everybody thinks it is going to, that's a departure from the norm here, usually it stays kind of soft. What will that mean for the weekend in your assessment? Is it going to be as full throttle as people are used to here?
RUSSELL HENLEY: I don't know. Gosh, I've played here once maybe before, and Zach made it look really easy. He just walked around here and shot 6-, 7-under both days I played with him. I never thought it was that easy, but a lot of guys seem to think it's easy. I don't know what it'll be like. Looks like they're watering some of the fairways now. I bet they'll keep it under control, but who knows.

Q. How about the birdie putt on 7?
RUSSELL HENLEY: That was good. I was just thankful that I hit it the right speed. When I saw it go down the hill, I knew it was going to be about the right speed, and that was really all I was trying to accomplish. That's a tough par-3 today. For it to drop in was cool, but I was just happy that I hit a nice putt.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297