ATHENS, GA (May 9, 2011) -- University of Georgia senior Russell Henley became the second amateur winner in Nationwide Tour history, and he did it on his home course. Henley shot 12-under 272 May 8 at the Stadion Classic, which is held at the University of Georgia Golf Course.

“I knew that if I played fearless golf, went with my first instinct and had as much fun as I possibly could, I’d shoot a good score,” said Henley. “It was definitely harder to commit to my shots today. I had a lot of adrenaline.”

Henley made headlines at last year’s U.S. Open, not only for his impressive tie for 16th, but the way he joyfully interacted with the galleries while playing at Pebble Beach. He gave the home fans plenty to cheer about on Sunday.

He also gave U.S. Walker Cup captain Jim Holtgrieve reason to be excited. Henley, the 2010 Golfweek College Player of the Year, will graduate Georgia on Friday with a degree in Housing and Consumer Economics. Henley is a virtual lock for the team, and said he will wait until after the Walker Cup to turn professional. The Stadion victory guarantees him Nationwide Tour status for 2012.

Henley’s summer schedule includes the Palmer Cup, Northeast Amateur, Southern Amateur, Porter Cup, Western Amateur, U.S. Amateur and finally the Walker Cup in September. Georgia will compete in NCAA regionals next week, followed by the NCAA Championship May 31-June 5.

“They talk about how much money you can make playing pro golf but I’ve never played golf to win money,” he said. “I love to play golf and I love to compete and there are a lot of amateur tournaments I want to play in.”

The first amateur to win on the Nationwide Tour, Daniel Summerhays, turned pro immediately after winning the 2007 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational, choosing not to pursue a spot on that year’s Walker Cup team.

Henley needed a strong performance at last month’s SEC Championship to clinch his spot in the Stadion, which offers an exemption to the two Georgia players with the lowest scoring averages.

Harris English was four shots ahead of both Henley and Hudson Swafford entering the SEC Championship. Henley tied for sixth at the conference championship to pass his two teammates. Harris English nabbed the second spot. He tied for 18th at the Stadion.

Because they finished in the top 25, both Henley and English are eligible for the Nationwide Tour’s Melwood Prince George’s County Open June 2-5. That even conflicts with the NCAA Championship, but could give the players a nice consolation prize should Georgia fail to qualify for the national championship. This is the second consecutive year that both Henley and English have made the cut at the Stadion Classic.

Final Results

1.   Russell Henley................................ 72–66–66–68—272
2.   Troy Kelly........................................ 71–67–66–70—274  $99,000.00
T3. Matt Hendrix.................................. 70–67–68–70—275  $48,400.00
T3. Will Wilcox...................................... 73–68–67–67—275  $48,400.00
T5. Matt Davidson................................ 72–67–70–67—276  $21,656.25
T5. Bubba Dickerson............................. 65–71–72–68—276  $21,656.25
T5. Brad Elder....................................... 70–71–68–67—276  $21,656.25
T5. Danny Lee...................................... 72–70–66–68—276  $21,656.25
T9. Jeff Gove....................................... 70–73–69–65—277  $15,950.00
T9. Won Joon Lee................................. 73–67–67–70—277  $15,950.00
T9. John Mallinger................................ 68–73–70–66—277  $15,950.00
T12. Mark Anderson............................. 71–69–69–69—278  $12,650.00
T12. Darron Stiles................................. 74–65–68–71—278  $12,650.00
T12. Andrew Svoboda.......................... 74–68–66–70—278  $12,650.00
T15. Roberto Castro............................. 72–68–69–70—279  $9,900.00
T15. Rob Oppenheim........................... 72–72–69–66—279  $9,900.00
T15. Derek Tolan.................................. 73–71–65–70—279  $9,900.00
T18. Jim Carter..................................... 70–71–71–68—280  $7,443.34
T18. Danny Wax................................... 72–71–71–66—280  $7,443.34
T18. Rich Barcelo.................................. 68–70–71–71—280  $7,443.33
T18. Elliot Gealy.................................... 72–67–68–73—280  $7,443.33
T18. Russell Knox................................. 73–67–71–69—280  $7,443.33
T18. Alexandre Rocha........................... 77–67–68–68—280  $7,443.33
T18. Harris English................................ 72–71–69–68—280 
T25. Robert Damron............................. 72–68–73–68—281  $4,840.00
T25. Richard H. Lee............................... 73–69–73–66—281  $4,840.00
T25. Garth Mulroy................................ 72–67–72–70—281  $4,840.00
T25. James Nitties................................ 70–71–67–73—281  $4,840.00
T25. Clayton Rask................................. 69–72–72–68—281  $4,840.00
T25. Chris Smith................................... 72–72–68–69—281  $4,840.00
T31. Scott Brown.................................. 71–72–70–69—282  $3,478.75
T31. Miguel Angel Carballo................... 66–72–71–73—282  $3,478.75
T31. Gary Christian............................... 72–70–67–73—282  $3,478.75
T31. Chris Nallen.................................. 71–73–67–71—282  $3,478.75
T31. Michael O'Neal............................. 73–68–72–69—282  $3,478.75
T31. Patrick Sheehan............................ 73–65–73–71—282  $3,478.75
T31. Brendon Todd............................... 71–73–70–68—282  $3,478.75
T31. Aaron Watkins.............................. 71–68–69–74—282  $3,478.75
T39. Woody Austin............................... 71–72–68–72—283  $2,450.00
T39. Marco Dawson.............................. 67–71–77–68—283  $2,450.00
T39. Joel Edwards................................. 70–67–75–71—283  $2,450.00
T39. Rahil Gangjee............................... 74–65–74–70—283  $2,450.00
T39. Mathias Gronberg......................... 68–75–70–70—283  $2,450.00
T39. Brian Harman................................ 72–71–70–70—283  $2,450.00
T39. James Love................................... 69–74–72–68—283  $2,450.00
T39. Ted Potter, Jr................................ 74–70–67–72—283  $2,450.00
T39. Fran Quinn.................................... 72–70–73–68—283  $2,450.00
T39. James Sacheck.............................. 72–71–70–70—283  $2,450.00
T39. Brett Wetterich............................. 71–73–71–68—283  $2,450.00
T50. Anthony Broussard....................... 74–70–69–71—284  $1,925.00
T50. Andres Gonzales........................... 72–72–72–68—284  $1,925.00
T50. J.J. Killeen..................................... 71–72–71–70—284  $1,925.00
T50. Jeff Quinney................................. 70–72–72–70—284  $1,925.00
T50. Chris Tidland................................. 70–73–67–74—284  $1,925.00
T55. Josh Geary.................................... 72–69–72–72—285  $1,773.75
T55. Bob Heintz.................................... 71–70–71–73—285  $1,773.75
T55. Luke Hickmott............................... 73–65–77–70—285  $1,773.75
T55. Will MacKenzie............................. 72–71–69–73—285  $1,773.75
T55. John Merrick................................. 72–67–70–76—285  $1,773.75
T55. Cameron Percy............................. 69–71–74–71—285  $1,773.75
61. Matthew Giles................................ 74–67–72–73—286  $1,677.50
T62. Travis Bertoni................................ 68–76–69–74—287  $1,608.75
T62. Ken Duke...................................... 72–67–76–72—287  $1,608.75
T62. Jon Mills....................................... 71–70–76–70—287  $1,608.75
T62. Steve Pate.................................... 75–69–72–71—287  $1,608.75
T66. Craig Bowden............................... 73–70–72–73—288  $1,498.75
T66. Cliff Kresge................................... 73–71–67–77—288  $1,498.75
T66. Major Manning............................. 72–69–72–75—288  $1,498.75
T66. Geoffrey Sisk................................ 72–72–75–69—288  $1,498.75
T70. Adam Blyth................................... 71–70–73–75—289  $1,402.50
T70. Jason Schultz................................ 74–69–73–73—289  $1,402.50
T70. Will Strickler.................................. 70–71–74–74—289  $1,402.50
T73. Daniel Chopra............................... 71–70–78–71—290  $1,333.75
T73. Michael Letzig............................... 73–69–75–73—290  $1,333.75
T75. Jeff Curl........................................ 70–74–75–73—292  $1,278.75
T75. Jerod Turner................................. 73–68–77–74—292  $1,278.75