One of the greatest players in Connecticut golf history, Ronald Joseph “J.J.” Henry, III enters the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame in 2015 in the category of “Distinguished Golf Achievement.” At 40 years of age, and in his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame, J.J. is still in the midst of an outstanding career.
Born in Fairfield in 1975 to Nancy and Ron Henry, Jr., J.J. was introduced to golf at an early age. His grandfather, Ron Sr., was an avid golfer and a high school teammate of Julius Boros. As a young boy, J.J. learned the short game on a putting green and a bunker in his grandfather’s back yard, and spent countless hours whacking balls on the beach in Fairfield not far from his parent’s home.
J.J.’s father Ron was an enormously positive influence. An outstanding player himself who competed in multiple U.S. and British Amateur Championships, Ron was a regular in CSGA tournaments for many years, and a seven-time club champion at The Patterson Club in Fairfield.
“My dad was a great chipper and putter, and I learned a lot from him about course management, competitiveness and the mental side of things. I also learned to enjoy myself. My dad always wanted to make sure we were having fun.”
J.J.’s first taste of competitive golf came as a 12 year-old in the Jay Borck Memorial Junior. “One thing I remember my dad telling me before that first tournament was never to slam your club after a bad shot,” recalled J.J. “It shows weakness to your fellow competitors. When you’re 12 it’s good to have someone who understands and can help you.”
J.J. flourished as a junior golfer. He won the Borck Junior in 1991 and 1992, and led Fairfield High School to two state championships while going undefeated (76-0-2) in his high school career. A semifinalist in the 1993 AJGA Rolex Junior, J.J. enrolled at Texas Christian and went on to have a brilliant college career. In his senior year he won the Western Athletic Conference individual title, was runner-up in the NCAA Championship, and was named First Team All-American and NCAA College Player of the Year.
In the summer months during college, and beginning with a breakthrough victory in the 1994 Connecticut Amateur, J.J. dominated amateur golf in the northeast.
“The first time I won the Connecticut Amateur it felt like I had won the US Open. After caddying for my dad so many times it was really neat to have him caddying for me when I won. My dad had tears in his eyes and I did too. You go through a lot of highs and lows playing in a match play event, and it was great to be together with my dad through all of that.”
J.J. won the Connecticut Amateur again in 1995, and in 1998 he became only the fifth player in history to win both the Connecticut Amateur and the New England Amateur in the same year. In 1998 the Connecticut Sportswriters Association named J.J. as the Connecticut Male Athlete of the Year.
The arc of J.J.’s career continued steadily upward when he turned pro, reached the final stage of PGA Tour qualifying, and earned full status on the Nationwide Tour in 1999. In his second year on the pro circuit he captured the Knoxville Open and finished 13th in earnings to gain entrance to the PGA Tour in 2001.
Over the past 15 years J.J. has been one of the most consistently successful professional golfers in the world. With “Top-125” as the marker to determine who retains their PGA Tour status each year, J.J. is one of only three American-born players to finish inside the Top-125 in earnings every year since 2001.
The first of J.J.’s three PGA Tour victories came in storybook fashion at the Buick Championship in 2006 in Cromwell, and his triumph was celebrated statewide as he became the first Connecticut golfer to win the event.
The following year J.J. reached another pinnacle in being named to the United States Ryder Cup Team. J.J,’s performance in golf’s most pressure-packed championship was as solid as his entire career as he halved all three matches in which he was involved.
His second Tour championship came in the 2012 Reno-Tahoe Open and his outstanding play continues to this day. On July 3, 2015 he won again in Reno to claim his third PGA Tour victory. In one of the most dramatic finishes of the year on Tour, J.J. captured the title now known as the Barracuda Championship, with a 15-foot eagle putt on the second hole of a playoff.
Outside of his golf accomplishments, J.J. has also earned the admiration of thousands of people for his philanthropic work and commitment to bettering the lives of children and their families. Since its inception in 2006, J.J.’s Henry House Foundation has raised over $1,000,000 and funded local charities and tangible projects promoting health care and well being for children throughout the Fort Worth, Texas and Southern New England area.
From a joyful beginning in Fairfield, Connecticut J.J. Henry has become one of the greatest and most beloved golfers in Connecticut history, and a unanimous selection into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame.
