Its basically vacation time for J.J. Henry, as it is for every golfer with kids under, say, 13. This is the week of the Disney tournament, and players swear they are teeing up in earnest. And they ARE in the morning, but they are hustling over to the parks with wife and kids in tow as soon as they get off the 18th green.
For J.J., its a break thats well-deserved. Henry played very well this year, thank you, capped by a Ryder Cup in which he was one of the few bright spots on the U.S. team. But its a break that the rigors of the FedEx Cup and its four straight weeks cant affect. If its October, and the kids are still young enough, then J.J. plans to be in Orlando.
J.J. Henry halved all three of his Ryder Cup Matches to earn 1 1/2 points for the U.S.
Absolutely, he said. This is a week for my family and some of my great friends. Its almost ' it IS ' a vacation. we stay here on site, we go to the different parks and things, and the children love it. Its always nice to get everyone together this week and really enjoy it.
So, for years to come, I think this is something where you can still go out and play golf, and obviously win a tournament, but its such a nice little break, too.
It happened again Tuesday night, when Henrys 2-year-old son realized where they were. Hey, this is Mickeys place!
He was pretty excited, said Henry. He and ol mom are running around somewhere. One of my good friends and his family are coming tomorrow. So I am really looking forward to it.
J.J. may be the answer to which of the young Americans will make an international name for themselves in the near future. Actually, Henry isnt exactly young ' hes 31 ' but the events of September at the K Club in Ireland propelled him front and center of the four U.S. Ryder Cup rookies. And his success there has brought newfound confidence.
This game is all about confidence and believing in yourself, he said. Theres no question, especially going over and being in the Ryder Cup and, just the electricity in the air and walking to the first tee ' I mean, heck, it was like walking into the Coliseum or something. Its just like youre going in for a title fight.
Im not saying I was unbelievable or anything, but I felt for the most part I played pretty well. So I feel like that when I come back and play in the normal events now, theres a newfound confidence where ' hey, if you can do that, then go out and do this.
As one of those rookies who ' who are these four guys? ' I think it was really important to go over and really prove to myself that I really belonged. I think for the most part I did that.
He had always been a better-than-average player at every level of his golfing career ' at college at TCU, on the Nationwide, and now on the PGA TOUR. But he might just have turned another corner. And if so, you might be hearing a lot more from him in the near future.
Honestly, I just feel like I kind of came into my own a little, so to speak. Ive knocked on the door before ' its not like I havent had chances to win a tournament, said Henry.
I think a lot of it is just believing in yourself, believing in what youre doing. Ive always felt like that as long as I felt I was improving, or just doing the little things to get to that next level ' you know, you can be very impatient out here as a young player, especially with not seeing a lot of success. You know, I was good enough to keep my card for six straight years. Ive finished second 3-4-5 times, whatever it was. So I just kind of kept knocking on the door, and sooner or later I knew Id break through.
The family is calling now, ready to go to the park. For J.J. Henry, golf doesnt seem so Mickey Mouse now.
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