Stress-free Hensby closing in on crucial spot in top 125 Veteran 151st on money list, but one shot off lead in Scottsdale  Special to PGATOUR.com SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Perhaps Mark Hensby will be altering his plans for the future after Sunday's final round of the Fry's Electronics Open.  Mark Hensby has one PGA TOUR victory. (Getty Images)
Hensby currently resides at No. 151 on the money list with $429,731 and needs a big payday to keep his PGA TOUR card. But he said regardless of where he finishes in the Fall Series' dash for cash, he will not be returning to Qualifying School. No way! "To me it doesn't matter,'' said the 35-year-old Australian, who somewhat surprisingly doesn't have a top-10 this season while missing the cut in seven of 15 events. "If I play well, I don't have to worry about it and if I don't . . . I'm not going to go to Q-School, so I don't have to worry about that, either.'' Seriously, mate? "I'll have to work on past champions and sponsor's exemption invites next year, otherwise I'll be playing on the Nationwide Tour,'' he said with resolution. Such talk might prove irrelevant, especially if Hensby can keep pouring in the birdies at the Fry's Electronics Open being played on the Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club. He remained solid during Saturday's third round with a 4-under-par 66 that moved him to 12-under 198, or one shot behind the leader, Sweden's Carl Pettersson. Hensby's fine play seemed to be a carry-over from Friday, when he recorded a tournament-best 61. That also was a career best, as he eclipsed the 63 he carded in the first round of the 2004 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. What is truly mind-boggling about Hensby's stellar play this week is that he was 5-over through his first 10 holes and barreling head-on into another missed cut. But Hensby has reversed his fortunes nicely over the last 44 holes, where he is 17 under on the strength of 19 birdies and two bogeys. "I was working on something and it wasn't working,'' Hensby quipped of his near-disastrous start over those first 10 holes in question. "Then I got a feel out there that something . . . it was just out of the blue.'' But asked what that "something'' was, Hensby just smiled. "That's a secret,'' he said. The past two years have been challenging for Hensby, who has been plagued by a nagging foot injury. The injury stemmed from a car crash suffered earlier in the 2006 season. "I damaged my leg, back and had a lot of whiplash,'' he explained. "My feet have been really bad. . . . But it's been getting better and better.'' Not being able to walk without pain explains why he made only 16 starts in 2006 -- missed the cut in half of those -- and ended up No. 183 on the money list. Fortunately for him, he kept his PGA TOUR card on the strength of the two-year exemption he earned at the John Deere Classic in 2004, his only win on the PGA TOUR in five seasons. If there is a weakness in Hensby's game, it might be his putting. After all, he does use the long putter. But that skill certainly looks much better this week, as he ranks No. 1 in that category with just 80 total putts. In fact, Hensby has holed just about everything he's looked at during that spectacular 44-hole run -- all except his next-to-last effort during Saturday's third round, when a four-footer to save par lipped out at the 18th hole to keep him from a share of the lead. What's a little odd is, Hensby never had played a round of golf at Grayhawk before this week even though he has lived full-time for the past five years in Mesa, Ariz., which is about 30 minutes due south. "I went to Geoff Ogilvy's wedding there,'' said Hensby, who has climbed the board all the way from a tie for 80th after the first round to a tie for second with Mike Weir. "So that's the only time I've ever been here.'' Who knows? He might even end up liking the place depending on how it all goes down in the final round. But whatever the outcome, he doesn't seem overly concerned about his current position in the hierarchy of world golf. "(In) 2004 I made $2.7 million, and 2005 I made a lot of money, too ($1.3 million),'' he said. "But it just shows you how fickle this game is. "I was 27th in the world a year and a half ago, and now I'm like 400.'' Well, it's not quite THAT bad. Hensby's actually ranking is No. 345, a position that he certainly will improve upon -- perhaps dramatically -- when the Fry's Electronics Open concludes late Sunday afternoon. |
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