Hensby's poor start serves up just the right wake-up call
By Jeff Babineau
Mark Hensby got off to a poor start in the first round of the Chubb Classic presented by SERVPRO. Through four holes, he was 2-over-par, and wondering why all the hard work he had put into his game this offseason was not showing up.
Then things picked up rather nicely. Hensby ran off three birdies to turn at 1-under 34, and would pick up six birdies over his final nine, making a closing run that included birdies on his final four holes.
“Felt good over the putter all day,” he said. “Even if you're not quite hitting it as well as you feel like you are, I made some really good putts.”
Included in Hensby’s closing run of birdies was a nice two-putt birdie at the par-5 15th, where he drove it left into trouble off the tee, but escaped with a deftly hooked iron approach that ran onto the green.
He was looking for improvement in his putting this season, and saw it once he got into his round. And at times, he really didn’t require much heroics, such as the par-4 17th, where he stuffed his approach to 1 foot.
“It's funny, you work so hard on your putting and ball striking goes down,” he said. “Probably not hitting it as good off the tee as I was last year, but my main goal this year was putting.
“Thank goodness it's falling into place this week, because I have been working hard at it.”
Hensby, 52, from Melbourne, Australia, captured his first PGA TOUR Champions victory last April, winning the Invited Celebrity Classic in Dallas, where he prevailed in a playoff.
