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BARRACUDA CHAMPIONSHIP

August 9, 2015

J.J. Henry

RENO, NEVADA

JOHN BUSH: We'd like to welcome the 2015 Barracuda Championship winner, J.J. Henry, into the interview room. He joins Vaughn Taylor as the only multiple winners at this tournament.
I know Reno is a special place for you. It already was, but I know it is now, J.J.
J.J. HENRY: Yeah, thank you so much. What you just said feels is great. Hasn't been the best year for me, to be honest with you. I've been fortunate enough now to be out here fifteen straight years.
I knew I was coming to Reno and Montreaux, and just so many great, positive memories here. Even before winning in 2012 I had I think three or four maybe top 5 finishes.
I just love being here. The people are great. It's just a beautiful spot to be this time of year to play golf. I think I figured out how to play out here in the altitude.
A lot of math this week. Adding, subtracting elevation change and such. Just feels really good to make a putt like that on the last hole and to win it, too. It's very satisfying.
You know, I'm just fortunate enough to be kind of doing this for a living. I don't know, there is just a lot of things going through my mind right now.
More so I'm just proud to be the winner here. Hopefully this will springboard me for kind of the second half of the my career, if you will, now that I'm 40 years old.
JOHN BUSH: Speaking of a boost, you move up to No. 76 in the FedExCup standings. I know that's huge for you.
J.J. HENRY: Yeah, there's no question about it. You know, it gives me a chance now to‑‑ you know, and hopefully ride that momentum, if you will.
I think it gets me in the PGA next week as well.
JOHN BUSH: It does, yes.
J.J. HENRY: So hopefully a nice little stretch of golf here to ride out the momentum.
But beyond that, again, I can't reiterate what a great place it is here and a great sponsor in Barracuda. This is their second year here.
And it's just a fun format. You saw all kinds of fireworks. I think there was a bunch of eagles today by I think Kyle, who played great obviously. I think he had 22 points today. I think he was done by the time I made the turn, so put a lot pressure on the leaders knowing when somebody has already posted something.
And today, to be honest with you, the golf course played a little tougher. It was windier; the greens firmed up today for the first time all week. So it was a lot more kind of really had to golf your ball. I didn't get off to a real good start, to be honest with you, but I hung in there.
To make eagle on the playoff like that feels great.

Q. Take us through the playoffs. Just your choice of shots. Any thought to chipping that last one?
J.J. HENRY: No, you know, the first playoff hole ‑‑ I'll take back to regulation. Obviously I knew Kyle had finished at 47 points. I knew I had to make at least birdie to force a playoff.
The tee was up today and it was a little downwind and the fairways were starting to firm up, so for me it's a perfect kind of a draw 3‑wood down there. I had a great number for an 8‑iron that from my angle it looked like the second shot almost went in the hole. Rolled about 12, maybe 10, 12 feet past and unfortunately just missed it on the high side.
You know, knew I had another chance in the playoff. To be honest, both playoff holes I did the exact same thing: Kind of drew a 3‑wood off the tee. Had an 8‑iron again in the first playoff hole that hit a great chip to a foot, and then Kyle made obviously a great 15‑footer to force another hole.
Then I was a little farther back. I hit a 7‑iron just on that front, left fringe. I knew obviously playing here that it's kind of coming down the mountain, if you will, from the front of that green.
I knew there was a good chance the ball would get to the hole if I got it on line, and that's exactly what I did. It went right in the middle of the hole.
Heck of a feeling. I don't know how athletic I looked when I jumped up for joy, but it's a heck of a feeling when you make a putt like that. When you do it to win on the PGA TOUR is even that much more special.

Q. Did you think you had‑‑ I mean, must have thought pretty good regulation, wasn't going to go past there. You were sitting in a pretty good spot.
J.J. HENRY: What do you mean?

Q. Were you surprised that it went to overtime in terms of...
J.J. HENRY: Well, to be honest, I don't know if you saw, but I hit a great shot on 17 in regulation to about ten feet. I don't know how the ball didn't go in. It actually went all the way around the hole and stayed out.
I'm saying to myself, Gosh, what do I have to do to win a tournament again? Again, I hit three great shots ‑‑ or two great shots on 18 to at least force a playoff, and the rest is history to make that eagle to win it outright.

Q. Talk about your rough start today. How did you overcome that?
J.J. HENRY: Yeah, to be honest, I was a little anxious; I was a little nervous. I've been fortunate‑‑ this is my third win and I think I've got five or six seconds. I'm not in that position every week, but I knew I was playing so well.
It was tricky today when we started out. It was windy. Like I said, the greens firmed up. So I made a couple early bogeys.
But that's the cool thing about this format, knowing the fact that if you just hang in there and make a little run‑ and that's exactly what I did; I think I birdied three in a row on the back nine to have a quick six points, and next thing you know you're looking up and you're two points behind playing the last hole.
I am really proud of the way I hung in there today. Tough day. To be honest with you, probably was good for me it was tough. Starting with the lead‑‑ you know, Kyle got a lot of points early, but none of the leader really did a whole lot because I think the golf course played pretty tough today.
I knew that was probably going to be the case, and I was kind of embracing the challenge.
JOHN BUSH: Anything else? All right, well congratulations, J.J.
J.J. HENRY: Thank you guys, appreciate it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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