Russell Henley back in a big way with lead halfway through Sony Open

Nine years ago, Russell Henley walked off the 18th green at Waialae Country Club a winner in his PGA Tour debut.

He had the Sony Open trophy in his hands, a spot in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking and an invitation to the Masters.

And he was only 23 years old.

It’s been an up-and-down career since then for the Georgia native, who is as high as it gets on the leaderboard after the second round of the Sony Open in Hawaii, closing with four birdies and an eagle over his final six holes to shoot 63 on a picture-perfect Friday at Waialae Country Club.

Henley enters the weekend at 15 under, three shots ahead of China’s Haotong Li, and a shot better than where he was after two rounds in 2013, when he went on to win the tournament by three strokes in the debut event of his rookie season.

“I feel like it kind of feels more like seven (years ago),” Henley joked after the round. “I look back at a lot of golf and the ups and downs of the game, but it doesn’t seem like this is my 10th (Sony Open), you know.”

Henley’s victory at Waialae was his third in five professional events. He won twice near the end of 2012 on the Web.com tour to earn his PGA card. He had four more top-10 finishes, including two T6’s, over the next six months, but couldn’t continue his early-season success.

Henley has won twice since — at the Honda Classic in 2014 and at the Shell Houston Open in ’17 — but has never ranked higher than 43 in the OWGR.

“After this first (win), I remember thinking it might be easier than I thought. But it’s not,” Henley said after his round Friday. “It didn’t take me very long to realize (golf) is really hard. Had a lot of ups and downs my first year, second year, I mean, every year, so didn’t take me long to realize it’s really hard.”

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Part of his admitted struggles is his performances on the weekends after getting off to good starts. This is the seventh time Henley has had at least a share of the 36-hole lead, with his only win coming in Hawaii.

History is on his side at Waialae, where he has shot under par all but once in six Saturday rounds, including last year, when he closed with a 65 and a 68 to finish in a tie for 11th — his fourth Sony finish in 17th or better.

“If you hit your shots, you can get rewarded out here,” Henley said. “If you’re hitting the ball straight and hitting crisp shots, you’re typically going to get rewarded. So I think just knowing that keeps me in it.”

Henley, who started on the back nine, began his ascent past the rest of the field on No. 18 when he holed out from a bunker for eagle.

He made four putts between 8 and 11 feet for birdie on Nos. 4-7 before closing with a 29-foot bomb on No. 9 to give him eagles on both of the par-5s.

“I don’t remember the last time I had two eagles in the same round, but it’s definitely exciting,” Henley said. “Still a long way to go, but obviously just looking to keep believing in my game for the next two days.”

Li just missed a long putt for eagle and settled for birdie on his final hole to get to 12 under, one shot ahead of 2019 champion Matt Kuchar, who had five birdies and no bogeys to shoot 65 and get to 11 under for the tournament.

“Another good day. Probably felt more in control yesterday than today, but found a good number of fairways,” Kuchar said. “If you’re in the fairway you can make birdies. If you’re not in the fairway, you’re hoping to make pars.”

Michael Thompson is alone in fourth place at 10 under after shooting a 67 in the afternoon.

Japan’s Keita Nakajima shot a 64 and is at 9 under in an 11-way tie for fifth to become the first amateur to make the cut since then-Punahou junior Kyle Suppa in 2015.

Maryknoll alumnus and current Washington State freshman Peter Jung was the only one of seven golfers with local ties to make a run at qualifying for the weekend.

Jung, who started the day at 2 over, made a 14-footer for eagle on No. 9 and was 5 under through 10 holes, getting to one shot behind the projected cut for most of the afternoon before it moved to 5 under late in the day, tying the lowest cut score ever at Waialae.

A bogey on the par-3 17th ended his chances at playing on the weekend, but he finished with a birdie on 18 to shoot 5-under 65.

“All week I was hitting it well,” Jung said. “Stayed patient. I got my first birdie (on the fifth hole and) after that it was on.”

His 65 matched Lance Suzuki, David Ishii and Parker McLachlin (twice) for the second-lowest score by a Hawaii-born golfer in tournament history, behind Tadd Fujikawa’s 62 in 2009.

Henley’s 63 was matched by three other players on Friday — Stewart Cink, Charles Howell III and Ryan Armour.

Howell, who is at 8 under, made the cut for the 21st consecutive time at Waialae dating back to 2002.