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The FedEx St. Jude Championship is heating up in Memphis, and while Tommy Fleetwood made headlines with four consecutive birdies to close out his second round, it was Russell Henley who delivered the most jaw-dropping moment of the day.
On Friday, at Hole No. 3, Henley found his ball resting precariously on the edge of the water at TPC Southwind. But instead of taking a drop, the 36-year-old Georgia native kicked off his shoes, rolled up his pants and stepped inside the water.
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What followed was a fiery splash shot that stunned fans and commentators.
“Oh, how good is that out of the water?” one announcer exclaimed in disbelief, as captured in a video posted by PGA Tour on X. Henley saved par on that hole, keeping himself in contention to continue the battle.
Henley entered the FedExCup playoffs in strong form. On Thursday, he posted a 4-under 66 in Round 1, trailing leader Akshay Bhatia by four strokes. Bhatia had fired a career-best 8-under 62, while Fleetwood followed closely at 7-under par.
On Day 2, he started his round at 1:45 p.m. ET alongside Justin Thomas with a par on the opening hole.
The five-time PGA Tour winner’s season has been quietly impressive. He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March and has logged nine top-10 finishes, including a T2 at the Travelers Championship and T10s at both the U.S. Open and The Open Championship.
Now Henley’s consistency has pushed him into the top six of the U.S. Ryder Cup standings, putting him in line for an automatic spot on Team USA for the showdown at Bethpage Black this September.
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