Five-time PGA Tour winner explains why he called a penalty on himself on day two of the Travelers Championship

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Russell Henley fired a scintillating round of nine-under par 61 on day three of the Travelers Championship.

However, things didn’t quite run as smoothly for Henley during his second round at TPC River Highlands.

The 36-year-old has blown very hot and cold this season, with one win to his name in 13 events played but two missed cuts as well.

And Henley produced some of his best stuff on Saturday at the Travelers Championship, with his round of 61 catapulting him back into contention.

He’s hardly been firing on all cylinders recently, so that round came somewhat out of the blue.

Back in April, Henley admitted that he plays poorly when thinking too much about his swing, but that certainly wasn’t the case at TPC River Highlands on Saturday.

Russell Henley says why he called a penalty on himself at the Travelers Championship

On the par three eighth hole during his second round, Henley hit his chip shot close to the hole.

He went on to hole his putt, but it wasn’t for a par unfortunately.

That’s because Henley called a penalty on himself, and now we know exactly why he felt the need to do that.

After his fine round of 61 on day three of the Travelers Championship, Henley was asked to explain why he was so insistent on calling a penalty on himself during his second round.

He said: “Well, when I took the club back I saw the ball move a dimple to the right. I saw it fall to the right. And so I know that for a fact. And right — when it happened it kind of shocked me a little bit, I still hit the shot, and as the ball was rolling on the green I was thinking, something just happened there. So I knew, I knew that the ball moved. I just felt it was the right thing to do. The rule says you have to be, I don’t know if it’s 19 out of 20 times or 95 percent, but definitely sure the ball moved. And I am. And so I just felt like it was the right thing to do.“

Reporter: Was there ever a question that you caused it to move?

Henley: “No. It was pretty windy and the ball was halfway covered from the rough, but I’m confident that it moved. The rule is kind of setup I think to protect us just from being unsure. Because it’s kind of an — it’s one of those things where there’s no intent there, and I didn’t really benefit at all, the ball was in the thick rough. But that’s part of the game.“

Reporter: Not looking for a number here, but do you know how many times you called a penalty on yourself? Hardly ever, a few, a lot?

Henley: “There’s been a few. Like probably — like when I played the wrong ball in Mexico in 2018 or 2019, they ended up giving me — I didn’t know I was playing the wrong ball, so that was, that was no intent, but I had to tell ’em. Ended up being an eight-shot penalty and made my way to the Delta ticket counter. But, yeah, just a handful, just a couple times.“

Reporter: What I’m getting at is on the ones where there may be some uncertainty, but you decide you want the penalty, how fast do you put it behind you and move on, and how much do you ever, do you ever think back?

Henley: “Yeah, there’s been a couple times where I’ve been unsure that it moved. And I had a talk with Ken Tackett about it, and multiple officials I’ve had that conversation with. And I’ve kind of beat myself up about it and feel guilty kind of like, I wasn’t sure. Is that a penalty? It was like, Well, if you’re not certain, then it’s not a penalty. So I had that battle, Well, I think it might of, but I don’t know. I can’t stand that part of having to decide.

“But, yeah, it was hard, it was hard to put it behind me, just because it was such a hard day, it was such a good par save, and to make a 3 but to count it as a 4 was like, Ugh, but part of it.“

Russell Henley’s 2025 PGA Tour results

Henley has proven on numerous occasions that he is a big game player.

He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill back in March, and with five PGA Tour wins to his name, he certainly knows how to get the job done.

Here are his results from the 2025 season so far:

Henley is more than capable of wrapping up his sixth PGA Tour win at the Travelers Championship on Sunday.

And if he plays anything like he did on day three during the final round, he will undoubtedly cruise to victory.