OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – Russell Henley kept it simple his first time playing Glen Oaks Club and opened with a 6-under 64 for the early lead in The Northern Trust.
Glen Oaks, a spacious and immaculate course, is hosting this FedEx Cup playoff event for the first time because Liberty National will hold the Presidents Cup next month. It is new to most everyone in the field, so Henley chose a conservative route by aiming for safe spots on the green.
He converted that into eight birdies and had a two-shot lead over Scott Brown and Camilo Villegas among the early starters.
“I don’t know what the key is, or the secret,” Henley said. “I just tried to hit the fairway, make sure I hit the green when I was in the fairway, and the greens are great and I rolled in a couple of putts.”
Henley chipped in from 80 feet on the fifth hole, while the rest of his birdies were all from 12 feet or closer.
PGA champion Justin Thomas, still sluggish from a busy week of trying to deal with his new status as major champion, wasn’t expecting much out of his game and dropped two shots early before he rallied for a 68.
In his first start since his two-shot victory at the PGA Championship, Thomas was not introduced on the tee as the PGA champion.
“After the drive I hit, I’m kind of glad they didn’t,” he said.
He hit it on the toe of the driver, a duck-hook that he says would have gone about 130 yards. He was exaggerating. It went 221 yards after it clanged out of the trees and into the fairway, leaving him a 2-iron to the green when most players are hitting a wedge or short iron.
British Open champion Jordan Spieth had a 69, while Hideki Matsuyama, the No. 1 seed going into the PGA Tour’s version of the postseason, didn’t make a birdie and opened with a 74.
Rory McIlroy made three bogeys on the back nine and shot 73.
For Henley, it was a great start for someone who didn’t need it as desperately as other players. The Northern Trust is the first of four FedEx Cup playoff events, and the fields will gradually shrink until the top 30 in the standings make it to the finale at East Lake to play for the $10 million bonus.
Henley is at No. 19, no guarantee that he will stay there, so it’s important to at least put together good scores and high finishes.
Villegas is at No. 98 in the FedEx Cup, and only the top 100 after this week advance to the TPC Boston next week. Harold Varner III and Bubba Watson are outside the top 100, and they were among those who shot 67.
Varner is just happy to be at Glen Oaks. He had to tie for 10th last week in the Wyndham just to crack the top 125, which allowed him to keep his full PGA Tour card for next season and see how far he can get in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
“Kept my job. Just want to capitalize on it,” Varner said. “Just can’t overthink it. Just need to play golf. Like I was saying earlier, the hard work is already over.”
Watson, a two-time Masters champion, is having one of his worst years, though there are signs of him turning the corner. He is at No. 113 and has a simple outlook for his week at The Northern Trust.
“My thing is just play until they tell me I can’t play anymore,” he said.
It’s also a big week for Phil Mickelson, who birdied his last two holes to salvage a 72. More than the FedEx Cup, Mickelson is trying to show the game — or at least some good scores — to show he might be worth a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup. Mickelson has been on every Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup team since 1994.
“I would love to be on that team, but I’ve got to bring something to the table,” Mickelson said. “And so if I can play well this week and next week and show that I’m playing as well as I know I’m playing ... but the only thing that matters is the score. So I’ve got to go shoot scores. If I can do that and add something to the team, I would love to be on it.”
