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Henley was in front of a group of seven golfers tied at 6 under
when play at Sedgefield Country Club was suspended due to
darkness. Twenty-two golfers will complete their first rounds
early Friday morning after inclement weather forced a suspension
of more than two hours during the afternoon.
Henley kicked into gear with an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole
after sticking his second shot to about 5 feet from the pin. He
made a long birdie putt at No. 6, chipped in for birdie at No. 7
and added four more birdies on the back nine.
The 32-year-old said his short game was the key to his low
number.
"Had a couple holes where I put the ball in a terrible position
and managed to get the ball up and down," Henley said. "Feel
like I putted pretty well, made the putts I needed to make and
made some par saves."
Henley, who last won on tour in April 2017, is firmly planted in
the FedEx Cup playoff field no matter what happens this week at
the tour's regular-season finale. Several golfers playing in
Greensboro, though, are making their final push to get inside
the top 125 in the points standings so they can qualify for the
playoff opener next week.
Two members of the seven-way tie for second -- Scott Piercy and
Michael Thompson -- entered the week Nos. 126 and 128 in the
standings, respectively.
"If I were to say that I'm not thinking (the FedEx Cup), I'd be
lying," Thompson said. "I think it's nice that I have a
multiyear exemption to rely on; however, getting into the FedEx
Cup playoffs guarantees me into The Players Championship next
year, so that's essentially what I'm playing for.
"I feel like I'm actually hitting the ball well enough that I
can give myself a chance to win this tournament, too."
Also tied at 6 under were South Korea's Sung Kang, Canada's Adam
Hadwin, Ted Potter Jr., Chris Kirk and Hudson Swafford. Hadwin
is the only one of that group who still must complete his round
Friday; he had carded six birdies and avoided making a bogey
through 16 holes.
--Field Level Media
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