Henley’s run lines him up for rare piece of history

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Three ahead at the Wyndham Championship, Russell Henley will become the first wire-to-wire winner on PGA Tour this season. Photo: LA Times
Three ahead at the Wyndham Championship, Russell Henley will become the first wire-to-wire winner on PGA Tour this season. Photo: LA Times

Russell Henley equalled his second-lowest opening 54-hole score on PGA Tour at the Wyndham Championship on Saturday, and has a three-shot lead going into Sunday.

He holds his third 54-hole lead/co-lead of the season and fifth of his career; converted one of those instances into a win (Won/2013 Sony Open in Hawaii, T2/2014 Dell Technologies Championship, T3/2020 THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK, T13/2021 U.S. Open, TBD/2021 Wyndham Championship).

Also Read: Henley sitting pretty at Wyndham Championship

Henley will become the first wire-to-wire winner on Tour since Nick Taylor at the 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Will become the sixth player since 1941 to win the Wyndham Championship in wire-to-wire fashion; first since Brandt Snedeker in 2018.

All three players who led outright after each of the first three rounds of an event this season failed to win (Sam Burns/The Genesis Invitational, Louis Oosthuizen/The Open Championship, Harris English/World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational).

Henley finished T9 at the 2020 Wyndham Championship, his best result in four prior starts at the event.

Three top-20s in his last four starts, highlighted by a T11 at the John Deere Classic (has not played since The Open Championship).

His best result this season: T3, twice (THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK, The Honda Classic).

Henley is a three-time PGA Tour winner (2013 Sony Open in Hawaii, 2014 The Honda Classic, 2017 Houston Open).

He entered Week No. 46 in the FedExCup standings and will qualify for the Playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.

2021 Puerto Rico Open champion Branden Grace (T3/-11) is set for a return to the FedExCup Playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons (No. 165/2019-20); third-round 64 marked best round since closing with the same score at The RSM Classic in November (T30).

Roger Sloan (T3/-11) posted his career-low 54-hole score at 11-under 199; has posted 200 on three occasions, most recently at the 2020 Wyndham Championship (finished T31).

Kevin Kisner (T3/-11) has top-10 finishes in three of his last four starts at the Wyndham Championship (T8/2014, T10/2016, T42/2017, T3/2020) and has yet to miss a cut in seven starts. After entering Week No. 69 in the FedExCup standings, currently projected No. 55 in bid for sixth trip to the TOUR Championship in the last seven seasons.

Also Read: It begins with a lot of cream, the FedEx Cup Playoffs

Kevin Na (T3/-11) seeks third-consecutive top-10 finish at the Wyndham Championship (T10/2016, T4/2017).

One week following a third-place finish at the Barracuda Championship, Scott Piercy (T3/-11) is in search of a fifth PGA Tour title (most recent: 2018 Zurich Classic of New Orleans/with teammate Billy Horschel).

Making his first start on Tour since earning the silver medal in the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition, Rory Sabbatini (T3/-11) poised for fourth top-10 finish in eight starts at the Wyndham Championship.

Adam Scott (T9/-10) is projected to move from No. 121 to No. 106 in the FedExCup standings following a third-round 6-under 64; seeking to advance to the Playoffs for the 15th straight season.

2011 Wyndham Championship winner Webb Simpson (T9/-10) has finished T3 or better in each of the last four years at the event (3rd/2017, T2/2018, 2nd/2019, T3/2020); third-round 70 snapped a streak of 18 straight rounds in the 60s at the event and included his first triple bogey in 49 rounds at Sedgefield Country Club (par-4 14th).

Needing a win to advance to the FedExCup Playoffs, Will Zalatoris (T15/-9) carded a bogey-free 6-under 65, his eighth consecutive round in the 60s.

Anirban Lahiri carded a 67 to be T28 at seven-under 203.

PGA Tour

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