Russell Henley birdied the final three holes in regulation and the first playoff hole to win the Charles Schwab Challenge in a sudden-death playoff over Eric Cole.
Henley signed for a 3-under 67 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday to tie Cole with a 72-hole total of 12-under 268.
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On the first playoff hole, Henley stuffed his approach to 4 feet, 10 inches and made the putt for the win.
Russell Henley plays his shot from the sixth tee during the final round of the 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club.
Henley’s final round was a wild one. He started with a 20-foot eagle at the first and birdie at the second but then bogeyed Nos. 3-5, known as the Horrible Horseshoe. With a bogey at No. 9, Henley toured the front nine in one over and fell as many as five shots behind the leader. But that was Henley’s last dropped shot and he finished with a flurry of birdies on the final three holes.
Cole, the 54-hole leader, birdied the first two holes but dumped his second shot at the ninth in the pond fronting the ninth green and made double bogey to fall back into a tie for the lead with J.J. Spaun and Michael Brennan at 11 under. It marked his first double bogey or worse for Cole in 316 holes.
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Deflated but still hot on the trail for that first win, he sank a 24-foot birdie putt at the par-5 11th to regain the lead at 12 under and then held on for dear life. Cole kept scraping out pars, including at the par-3 16th, where he managed a two-putt from 48 feet.
Henley’s putter came alive on the back nine on Sunday. He made a clutch 9-foot par putt at the par-3 13th to keep his momentum. He made a pair of 15-footers at Nos. 16 and 17 and then pumped his right fist when he dropped a 17-footer at the last.
Henley ranked first in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green, first in driving accuracy, first in proximity to the hole and second in SG: Approach the Green.
Henley, 37, won for the sixth time in his career and second consecutive year. With the win, he surpassed $50 million in career earnings.
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Cole, also 37 and the 2023 Arnold Palmer Award winner as the Tour’s Rookie of the Year, was bidding for his first Tour title. It marked his second loss in a playoff.
Ben Griffin, the defending champion, who was attempting to be the first to repeat since Ben Hogan, made a valiant effort, closing with the low-round of the day, 65. Alex Smalley for his fifth straight top-20 finish. Meissner, a 27-year-old Dallas resident, shot 69 for his best result of the season.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Russell Henley’s late birdie barrage steals Charles Schwab Challenge
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