Russell Henley had an incredible showing on Sunday at Bay Hill and as a result captured this season’s fourth Signature Event, the Arnold Palmer Invitational. It was by far the biggest win of his career.
Winning signature events comes with a lot of perks. The prize money is larger, the FedExCup points are larger and the attention received is magnified. Henley’s victory in Florida has him as the talk of the town, so much so that Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley went on public record about it.
Bradley, who played well himself at Bay Hill, did not shy away from suggesting that Henley could be a part of the United States team at Bethpage in September when he spoke on SiriusXM on Monday:
“I’m just so proud of him. He’d be a good Ryder Cup teammate.”
To be clear, Bradley mostly praised Henley for his victory at Bay Hill. He noted how proud he was of Henley and acknowledged how well-liked he is by other players.
For what it’s worth, if Henley continues this form for the rest of the season, then Bradley won’t have to make any decision. Russell’s win put him inside the top six of the U.S. Ryder Cup rankings, as the top six automatically make the team. Henley is currently fourth, trailing only Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Collin Morikawa.
Henley winning is one thing, but the fact that he could stare down one of the best players in the world in Morikawa made his thrilling victory even more impressive. He also proved he has what it takes to be an ideal Ryder Cup player.
The ball is in Russell Henley’s court now.
