Russell Henley Wins the Charles Schwab Challenge With a Closing Birdie Blitz and a Playoff Putt

For most of Sunday afternoon, Russell Henley looked like a footnote. Three shots back with three holes to play, Henley needed something close to perfect. Four swings of the putter later, the plaid jacket belonged to him.

Henley birdied the final three holes of regulation to shoot 3-under 67 and finish at 12-under 268, then made a 5-footer for birdie on the first playoff hole to beat Eric Cole and win the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial. It is Henley's sixth PGA TOUR win and first since the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Ben Griffin, Alex Smalley and Mac Meissner tied for third at 11 under, one shot out of the playoff.

A Front Nine to Forget

Henley's day started like a sprint. An eagle at the par-5 first and a birdie at the second put him right in the middle of the fight early. Then it unraveled. Three straight bogeys from the third through the fifth handed back everything, and another bogey at the ninth meant Henley made the turn at 8 under, well behind the leaders.

That is usually where a Sunday story ends. Henley played steady golf on the back nine but still needed a big par save at the 15th just to stay three behind with three to play.

Four Putts That Changed Everything

What followed was the best closing stretch of the week. Henley rolled in a 15-footer at the 171-yard 16th. Another 15-footer dropped at the par-4 17th. At the 18th, a putt of about 17 feet went in to reach 12 under and post the number Cole had to match.

"Still kind of speechless about it," Henley said afterward. "Hard to believe I'm sitting here."

The emotion of the finish showed in the playoff. "That was as nervous as I've been over a putt in my whole life," Henley said, per Field Level Media.

The best result of Henley's season before this week was a tie for third at the Masters. The win was worth $1,782,000 and 500 FedExCup points, plus the plaid jacket and a customized 1982 Jeep Scrambler.

Cole's Long Wait Continues

This one will sting for Cole. The 37-year-old started the day with a one-shot lead after Saturday's 63, birdied the first two holes and never lost the lead in regulation. One hole did the damage. At the 398-yard ninth, a wayward drive was followed by an approach into the water in front of the green, and the result was Cole's first double bogey or worse in 316 holes.

After that, it was a grind. Cole's only birdie on the back nine came at the 628-yard 11th. The rest was survival, including an up-and-down from a fairway bunker at the 12th, a lag from 47 feet to inside 5 feet at the 16th and a par at the 18th after an approach bounced into the rough. Cole parred the final seven holes, which would have been enough on most Sundays. It was one shot short of enough on this one.

In the playoff on the 18th, both players found the fairway. Henley hit the approach first, then Cole hit to 13 feet and missed the birdie try. "The putt was good, I hit it pretty much where I was aiming, I just kind of misread it," Cole said. Even so, Cole was not hanging his head. "I was proud with the way I played. I think I played solid for the most part," he said.

Cole is still looking for that first PGA TOUR win, on the day that happened to be his mother Laura Baugh's 71st birthday.

Griffin Nearly Pulls Off the Repeat

The defending champion almost crashed the party. Griffin started six back after three straight rounds of 68, then torched the front nine with five birdies. The back nine was quieter until a 25-footer dropped at the 17th to get to 11 under. A 50-footer for birdie at the 18th to join the playoff came up just short.

Griffin's 65 tied Steven Fisk for the best round of the day. A win would have made Griffin only the second player after Ben Hogan to win back-to-back Colonials. Instead, the defense of last year's title ended one shot short.

The Near Misses

Meissner, the Dallas resident and former SMU player who played in the final pairing with Cole, needed a birdie at the 18th to join the playoff. Meissner's second shot found a bunker, and the par save left Meissner tied for third after a 69. Smalley shot 68 to share third, another strong finish in a run of good form.

J.J. Spaun (70), Gary Woodland (67), Michael Brennan (68) and Nico Echavarria (68) tied for sixth at 10 under. Brennan was briefly tied for the lead in the middle of the afternoon before three bogeys and two birdies over the final seven holes. "I played a lot better than what I scored, but happy with where it's at," Woodland said. Ryan Gerard, one back to start the day, shot 72 and tied for 10th.

The Takeaway

Colonial asks for patience and precision, and on Sunday it rewarded a player who refused to fold after a brutal stretch in the middle of the round. Henley gave away four shots between the third and ninth holes and still found a way to win. That is the kind of resilience that wins at Hogan's Alley.

Catch up on the full week: Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3. Final scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's final-round recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (final-round recap and leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media, Golf Channel, GolfNewsNet. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.