ATLANTA — Russell Henley did not waste any time making himself comfortable at East Lake.
The Georgia native opened the 2025 TOUR Championship on Thursday with a 9-under 61, tying the lowest round in tournament history at East Lake and giving himself a two-shot lead over Scottie Scheffler.
Henley’s round was bogey-free and included an eagle and seven birdies. More impressively, he finished with three consecutive birdies, including putts of 42 feet on No. 16 and 35 feet on No. 17 before a 12-foot birdie on the 18th.
The putter was doing most of the heavy lifting. Henley made more than 200 feet of putts — 207 feet, to be exact — throughout the round. He one-putted six of his final seven holes.
The 61 matched Henley’s career-low round, previously recorded at the 2025 Travelers Championship and the 2019 John Deere Classic. It also marked his 10th career first-round lead or co-lead on the PGA Tour.
For Henley, who grew up in Georgia and played his college golf at the University of Georgia, the performance came at a familiar venue. He was making his fifth TOUR Championship appearance and entered the week coming off a fourth-place finish at East Lake in 2024.
Scheffler was two shots behind after a 63, while five players — including Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and eventual champion Tommy Fleetwood — opened with 64s.
It was only one round, but Henley had already put the rest of the field on notice.
