J.J. Henry Claims 2006 Buick Championship
7/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
As the 1998 National College Co-Player of the Year and the Horned Frogs' lone three-time golf All-American, J.J. Henry rates as the most prolific golfer in TCU history. In July of 2006, he solidified his place among the top players in the world by winning the PGA Tour's Buick Championship.
With the victory, he became just the third former TCU golfer ever to win a PGA Tour event, joining 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody and Don Massengale, who won two events in 1966, including the Canadian Open.
"I'm so happy for J.J.," TCU head coach Bill Montigel said. "He is such a great ambassador for the university and is a true example of what someone can achieve by working hard, staying patient and being dedicated. I couldn't be any prouder of him."
His first PGA Tour victory was extra special for Henry, as it came in his home state of Connecticut at the tournament where he made his tour debut as an amateur in 1998. He won the Buick with a 14-under-par total of 266, and his three-stroke victory was the largest at the tournament since 1999.
That win vaulted him into sixth place in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings and into the top-25 on the 2006 money list. In addition, he earned an exemption to play in his first British Open. Over his six-year PGA Tour career, Henry has earned more than $5 million and has finished among the top 125 on the money list each season. As a tour rookie in 2001, Henry finished 49th on the money list at over $1 million, keyed by a pair of second-place finishes.
At TCU, Henry claimed the individual title and led the Horned Frogs to the team crown at the 1998 Western Athletic Conference Championships thanks to a hole-in-one on the second-to-last hole. His second-place finish by one stroke at the 1998 NCAA Championships is the highest ever for a TCU individual and helped him snare first-team All-America honors.
Henry's 14th-place landing at the NCAA Championships in 1996 and his 17th-place finish at the NCAAs in 1997 earned him honorable mention All-America status back-to-back seasons. During his career, he totaled 11 top-10 finishes.
 |  |  |
Photos courtesy Chris Condon/Jim Rogash/WireImage/PGA Tour
