Henley birdies playoff hole to clip Cole at Colonial after three birdies to end regulation

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Russell Henley birdied the final three holes to force a playoff with Eric Cole, then made it four it a row with a five-footer on the first extra hole Sunday at Colonial to win the Charles Schwab Classic.

Henley’s late surge denied fellow 37-year-old Cole his first PGA Tour win on a day when Ben Griffin came up just short of becoming the only player other than Ben Hogan to win consecutive tournaments at Colonial.

Henley earned US$1.78 million for his sixth PGA Tour title and also got the plaid jacket and a customized 1982 Jeep Scrambler vehicle.

Playing in the group ahead of Cole, Henley closed with a 3-under 67. After making 15-foot putts at the 171-yard 16th hole and the par-4 17th, Henley got to 12 under with a 17-footer on the par-4 18th.

Cole shot an even-par 70. He parred the final seven holes — eight counting the playoff.

Henley and Cole finished a stroke ahead of Griffin (65), Alex Smalley (68) and Mac Meissner (69).

Mackenzie Hughes of Hamilton, Ont., finished in a three-way tie for 10th at 9 under. A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam, B.C., finished in a five-way tie for 17th at 6 under.

The drives for Henley and Cole on the extra hole, playing No. 18 again, stopped in the fairway — Cole getting a huge break after his ball somehow bounced through the left rough before settling on the edge of the short grass. Henley hit his approach shot first, and Cole hit his to 13 feet and missed the birdie attempt.

Cole, in his 120th PGA Tour start, never fell out of the lead in regulation during the final round, even when finishing the front nine with his first double bogey (or worse) in a span of 316 holes. He drove well right into the right rough at the 398-yard ninth hole, hit his approach into the water fronting the green and had a long bogey chance stop an inch from the cup.

His only birdie on the back was at the 628-yard 11th hole, but he had some significant par savers down the stretch. He made an up-and-down out of a fairway bunker at the 443-yard 12th hole, lagged a putt inside five feet at the par-3 16th after his tee shot on the green was still 47 feet from the cup, then had a short chip for his closing par after his approach at the 18th took an awkward bounce right to the rough and was 15 feet away.

Henley started the day with an eagle at the 577-yard first hole and a birdie at the 390-yard second, but quickly gave all three of those shots back with bogeys at Nos. 3-5 — the aptly-named Horrible Horseshoe at Colonial. He had another bogey at No. 9, making the turn at 8 under.

Defending tournament champion Griffin, who started the day six strokes back after three consecutive rounds of 68, had five birdies on the front nine. But he didn’t have another until a 25-foot putt at the 17th hole to get to 11 under, within a stroke of Cole six holes behind him.

Hogan, a five-time winner, twice had back-to-back victories. He won the first two Colonials ever played in 1946 and 1947, then had consecutive wins again in 1952 and 1953. His last win was in 1959.

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