Anyone would be forgiven for forgetting just how poorly Scottie Scheffler performed on his Presidents Cup debut in 2022, following his remarkable season in which the world number one won eight times worldwide.
No player on the American side scored fewer points at Quail Hollow two years ago, with Scottie Scheffler only adding half a point to the US’s tally. He was beaten three times, including a 2&1 loss to Sebastian Munoz during the singles as the Internationals threatened the most unlikely comeback.
Scheffler played alongside Sam Burns in three sessions at the previous Presidents Cup, while they also briefly teamed together at the 2023 Ryder Cup. So it would be a safe bet to suggest that Scheffler and Burns will play together at some stage over the coming days at Royal Montreal.
However, it feels increasingly important that Scheffler leads by example this time around. He is not a debutant this year, and he is, by some distance, the best golfer on the planet right now. So it will be a huge boost to the Internationals if they can stop Scheffler from making much of an impact on this year’s event.
Presidents Cup rookie tipped to be an ideal partner for Scottie Scheffler at Royal Montreal
But clearly, it is crucial that Jim Furyk finds the right partners for Scheffler over the course of the week. And speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman suggested that one name stands out.
“Just bringing up Russell Henley, and at the very beginning of this, I talked about Sam Burns and if you looked at his strokes gained, as far as how well he played at Quail Hollow and just got nothing out of it, if it was a stroke play event he would have won, that’s how good he was playing and unfortunately, just went up against guys that happened to have great matches as well. He played some with Scottie Scheffler that week, and if you were to split up those two guys, I really think Scottie Scheffler would pair up so tremendously well with Russell Henley,” he said.
“And the reason why I say that is, not necessarily just their game, Russell Henley’s a great iron player, a good wedge player, a good putter as well. Not the longest hitter, but I just think when you look at these two guys, I think they’re just so competitive, when you look at anything that they do, whatever sport it is, Scottie Scheffler wants to beat you at whatever it is.
“And Russell Henley, go look at his history, he was an all-state basketball player, just a gritty type of point guard type of guy that you knew was going to lock up the best guy on the other team, but also could go get you a bucket. I think there’s something to be said for that when it comes to matchplay when you just got to go and beat the guy in front of you.”
Why Russell Henley may be a secret weapon for Jim Furyk
Henley is something of an unknown quantity at the Presidents Cup because he is making his debut in the event in the coming days. The 35-year-old has not yet featured in a Ryder Cup either.
Interestingly, there is one member of the American team he has been paired with at a team event in the past, with Henley and Patrick Cantlay losing 5&4 together in the 2011 Palmer Cup.
Henley is arguably going to be a fantastic player to be paired with in the foursomes. While he is not the longest hitter, he does not miss many fairways. And the rest of his game is pretty solid, too.
Ultimately, if Scheffler is playing from the fairway more often than not, the Internationals are going to have to be at their very best to get anything from the matches involving the world number one.
And Henley is someone who is likely to put the ball in the perfect position time and time again.
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