Henley's Late Rally Steals Colonial Crown
Russell Henley captured his sixth career PGA Tour victory at Colonial Country Club, finishing at 13 under and defeating Eric Cole on the first playoff hole. What appeared to be Cole's maiden Tour victory slipped away when Henley birdied the last three holes of regulation and then added his fourth straight on the first playoff hole. The dramatic finish capped a week where the $9.9 million purse attracted one of the deepest leaderboards in recent Colonial history.
Henley found himself three strokes behind Cole when he stepped onto the 16th tee, seemingly too far back with too little time. But precision iron play changed everything. He converted birdie putts from 16 feet on No. 16, 16 feet on No. 17 and 18 feet on the par-4 finisher. On the playoff hole, Cole wedged to 13 feet and Henley to 5, and when Cole missed his birdie try on the high side, Henley found the middle of the cup for his fourth consecutive birdie.
Cole's Agonizing Wait Continues
Eric Cole was minutes away from his long-awaited first PGA Tour victory before Henley's heroics. Cole started Sunday at 12 under and opened birdie-birdie, but his approach found the water on the par-4 9th hole where he made double bogey. That swing proved critical. Cole steadied the ship after the bad double bogey with a birdie on the par-5 11th to return to 12 under, but he parred in from there, missing scoring chances on Nos. 17-18, which he ultimately needed.
Cole spent his early 20s playing the mini-tours, and after finally earning his Tour card, he notched six top-five finishes and was runner-up twice in 37 starts, which helped him win the Tour's 2022-23 Rookie of the Year Award as a 35 year old. This marked his third career runner-up finish, extending his winless streak despite showing consistent form heading into Fort Worth.
Griffin's Title Defense Falls Short
Defending champion Ben Griffin was not at the forefront of minds for most of the week, but a Sunday surge put Griffin in a position to create history. Griffin finished tied for third at 11 under alongside Alex Smalley and Mac Meissner, just one shot outside the playoff. His bid to become only the second player after Ben Hogan to successfully defend at Colonial came up agonizingly short.
The tie for sixth at 10 under featured an intriguing mix: Gary Woodland, Nico Echavarria, Michael Brennan, and J.J. Spaun all put together solid weeks but couldn't quite match the closing theatrics up top. The packed leaderboard reflected Colonial's challenge as a precision course where accuracy matters more than distance, creating opportunities for veterans and ball-strikers alike.
What This Means for Your Pool Strategy
Colonial consistently rewards specific skill sets that translate across multiple Tour stops. Henley's iron precision and putting prowess under pressure are exactly the traits that succeed at tight, tree-lined layouts like Harbour Town, Sedgefield, and Riviera. When building lineups for similar courses on golfpools.co, prioritize approach play and scrambling stats over driving distance.
The leaderboard also confirmed that experience at venue matters. Players familiar with Colonial's narrow corridors and small greens dominated, while first-timers struggled to adapt. Check course history when setting your picks for established events. Players who've posted multiple top-20s at a venue carry significantly less risk than talented newcomers, even if the latter arrive with better recent form.
Don't sleep on journeymen like Cole who've shown consistency without wins. In prize money pools, a steady accumulator of top-10s can deliver more value across a season than boom-or-bust talent. Cole's runner-up finish earned him over $1 million, the kind of haul that adds up for poolies who roster reliable veterans alongside stars.
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