By Greg Midland

June 17, 2009 — Though he now makes his home in Fort Worth, Texas, J.J. Henry will forever be linked to Met Area amateur golf. The Fairfield, Conn., native who grew up playing at the Patterson Club won three Connecticut State Amateur titles (1994, ’95 and ’98) and was a mainstay of MGA competition throughout the 1990s, competing in the Met Junior, the Met Amateur, Met Open and the Ike.

Like the other 155 players in the U.S. Open field, Henry is trying to get a feel for the nuances of the Black Course. Unlike many of the other players, Henry remembers when Bethpage was not the flawlessly conditioned layout it is today.

“It’s the first round I’ve had here since the Ike!” Henry said with a hearty laugh. “It was a long time ago [1994], and it was before they made all the changes to it.” Henry finished outside the top-20 in that Ike but enjoyed the experience. “I remember it was a great golf course and a big deal for us to play the Ike here,” he said.

Henry, 34, has enjoyed success on Tour, winning the 2006 Buick Championship in Hartford, and also played on the 2006 Ryder Cup team. He has not done as well at the majors, with his best finish being a t-26 in the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont. In this, his fifth Open, he hopes to improve on his results.

“Obviously the Open is a mental as much as a physical test. It’s the most demanding tournament we have. But playing on Tour now for nine years, I know what to expect. I’m just going to try and make as many pars as I can and avoid the big numbers.”

While he’s trying to do that, Henry will take some time to look around and enjoy competing so close to home. He knows he’ll have plenty of friends and family rooting him on this week.

“For me, growing up here in the Met Area and coming back home to play a major championship, it’s a great feeling.” Henry then pointed to a 10-year-old boy holding a U.S. Open flag for players to sign, and recalled, “You know, I can remember as a little kid like this coming out to big tournaments like this trying to get autographs, and now I’m here playing in my home area. It’s really special.”

It will be even more special if Henry can play himself into contention this weekend and get Met Area fans of all ages pulling for the local guy who would like nothing more than to put on a show for the hometown fans.