Athens — Russell Henley did something Sunday that has been done only one other time in the history of the Nationwide Tour. The University of Georgia senior beat a field full of professional golfers to win the Stadion Classic at UGA golf tournament.Henley shot a 3-under-par 68 — his third consecutive round in the 60s on the University of Georgia golf course — to best pro Troy Kelly by two strokes and take home the first-place trophy.
He did not, however, take home the $99,000 first prize. Playing as an amateur, he wasn’t eligible for it. In fact, with his 16th-place finish in the U.S. Open last year, that’s at least $213,480 in professional prize money
With the win, Henley does have 60 days to decide if he wants to join the Nationwide Tour and play under “tournament winner” status for the remainder 2011 season. To that Henley also said no thanks.
“They talk about how much money you can make playing pro golf, but I’ve never played golf to win money,” Henley told Joe Chemycz of the Nationwide Tour. “I love to play golf and I love to compete and there are a lot of amateur tournaments I want to play in.”
It’s a rarity for any amateur to win a professional event these days. Henley joins Daniel Summerhays (2007) as amateurs with Nationwide Tour wins. Rickie Fowler and Charles Howell III have logged seconds and Sergio Garcia a third as amateurs in Nationwide events.
It’s even more rare on the PGA Tour, where Phil Mickelson (1991) is the last two win as an amateur.
The fact is, Henley is simply too busy in the midst of an illustrious amateur career to turn pro. He plans to play in the Palmer Cup, Northeast Amateur, Southern Amateur, Porter Cup, Western Amateur, U.S. Amateur and Walker Cup. That will keep him from turning professional until September
“That’s actually more than I wanted to play this summer,” said the Macon native, who is slated to graduate from UGA later this week. “I’m going to stay amateur for sure.”
Henley was one of two current Bulldogs who played in the tournament on sponsor’s exemptions, which went to the two players on the team with the lowest scoring averages. Senior Harris English got the the other one also played well. He shot 4-under 280 to finish18th.
“This is a dream come true for me,” Henley said. “Just getting to play in this golf tournament was a tremendous opportunity, and to win it means the world to me. My goal is to be a professional golfer, and this reinforces to me that I can compete at the professional level.”
The good news is Henley will be able to play all the pro golf he wants after he finishes pursuing his amateur goals. His status as “tournament winner” will continue through 2012.
That’s, of course, assuming he won’t be playing on another tour.
