Russell Henley won the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba in a walk and, given his recent experiences both in Mayakoba and as a 54-hole leader, let’s just say he probably deserved to have a breather in winning his fourth PGA Tour title.
Henley finished off a stellar week with a final-round 70 that gave him a four-shot victory over Brian Harman. That was a better finish than earlier this year when he held the lead after three rounds of the Sony Open and shot 65 in the final round only to lose in a playoff to Hideki Matsuyama. It also helped erase the bitter taste of the Mayakoba event in 2019 when it looked like Henley would be in contention for the weekend only to suffer an eight-stroke penalty for violating the tour’s one-ball rule.
No such fate occurred in Mexico. Henley was in command from the start. Comforted by a six-shot margin at the beginning of Sunday’s play. Henley’s first bogey of the tournament came on the fifth hole of the final round, but he quickly rebounded with three straight birdies at the sixth, seventh and eighth holes to restore the margin to half a dozen shots.
A gap wedge from 122 yards to tight range at the sixth got things going and was followed by a 15-footer for birdie at No. 7. On the following hole, a short-iron shot off the tee at the 151-yard, par 3 nestled inside 10 feet and Henley made that putt as well.
That stretch was emblematic of Henley’s week as he relied on his short clubs and putter. Despite ranking second in driving accuracy with his 10-degree Titleist TSi3 driver, Henley could only hit 51 greens (ranked T-21). His short game, however, was impeccable as he used a trio of Titleist Vokey SM8 wedges to get up and down 19 of 21 times to rank second in scrambling.
When he did hit the green, Henley made the most of his opportunities, dropping enough birdie putts to rank eighth in putts per green in regulation. Henley’s putter is a Scotty Cameron by Titleist prototype blade putter that features a very long hosel. Henley has been fond of a long hosel on the putter since his days in college and has mostly stuck with that style throughout much of his PGA Tour career.
Also at various points in his career Henley was known to set his phone for a text alert to himself that read, “I am the best putter in the world.” This week, he was certainly one of the best in Mexico. And that’s all that really mattered.
What Russell Henley had in the bag at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: Titleist TSi3 (Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 7.0), 10 degrees
3-wood: Titleist TS3, 16.5 degrees
Hybrid: Titleist TSi2, 21 degrees
Irons (4-9): Titleist T100; (PW): Titleist Vokey SM8
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (50, 54, 58 degrees)
Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist GSS prototype
WHAT IT DOES: Two of the four models cater to the extremes: the lightweight, slightly draw-biased TSi1 and the meaty, low-flying, ultra-low-spinning TSi4. The two middle models are for most of the market: those whose priority is forgiveness (TSi2) and those looking for playability and shotmaking (TSi3). Fitting four player types is nice, but the really neat achievement was finding extra speed. That meant using a special high-strength titanium originally designed for the Mars Lander. The lighter and faster-flexing alloy (ATI 425) means more design freedom to create extra off-center-hit stability in the TSi2 and movable weight in the more pear-shaped TSi3.
WHY WE LIKE IT: The 16-way hosel adjustability might still require a Google search, but because golfers are more different than they are similar, those settings, combined with the four distinctly performing heads and a warehouse of custom shafts, make more perfect matches than Coffee Meets Bagel. These head shapes are aerodynamically refined, too. But all those technology gains happen without touching the look, sound and feel that are as timeless as ever.
WHICH ONE'S FOR ME?
TSi1: This lighter weight model (some 40 grams less than standard models) includes a sub-40-gram shaft option as well to boost the speed potential of more moderate swings. The head's weighting attacks your slice. Generally, it targets players who need more spin, swing at a lower speed and generally need more draw bias, although the center of gravity is more centered compared to the TS1 drivers from the previous generation. The shaft is a quarter-inch longer (45.75 inches) compared to the other TSi models.
TSi2: This head features a larger footprint for a higher-stability design aimed at producing higher launch and lower spin. It's what the company calls its "distance bomber" club and is designed to help golfers who tend to use all of the face area and, thus, need as much forgiveness as they can get.
TSi3: This design uses a more traditional pear-shape with more of a mid-launch. It's focused on precision CG adjustments for a more precise player. The head includes five weight settings in a weight track in the rear that accommodate an eight-gram weight: two on the heel side, two on the toe side and a neutral setting. Titleist's research says the positions provide slice and fade control, but also can be used to better match the center of gravity to where a player’s consistent impact point is to help more directly increase ball speed.
TSi4: The low-spin head features the lowest and most forward CG of any TSi driver. It also checks in with the smallest head at just 430 cc.Read more >>
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