Local 43-year-old golfer Berry Henson qualifies for U.S. Open at LACC
Local golfer, Berry Henson has qualified for the U.S. Open next week at Los Angeles Country Club.
The 43-year-old will be competing on golf's biggest stage during one of golf's most polarizing times.
"I've always had a never give up attitude. People have told me, 'Hey, you can't make it. You can't do it.' And I said, 'Alright, watch me,'" says Henson.
He says being raised in the Coachella Valley influenced his love for the game of golf.
"With 140 plus golf courses in the valley, it's kind of hard not to fall in love with the game," says Henson.
Henson graduated from Palm Desert High School and calls the Palms Golf Club in La Quinta home.
"When I come back home, and I do my training, this is the place I like to be because it really gets me ready for tournament golf," says Henson.
Despite his age and difficulties to sustain success against the best players in the world, Henson hasn't given up on his passion.
"I've done this a lot. I've gone to sectionals of the U.S. Open many times, have failed, lost in playoffs, missed by one," add Henson.
But that wasn't the case this year.
"When I went to New Jersey to do the sectionals, it just seemed like a breeze and I was in a great mindset mentally and physically. And here we are getting ready to go to LA Country Club," says Henson.
While many local fans will be watching Henson next week, the spotlight will certainly be on the sport as a whole because of the recent PGA Tour and LIV league merger.
Henson shares the moment he heard the news, "I was on a plane back from New Jersey yesterday, and they got Wi Fi. So I got the the news, and yeah, massive bombshell hit. Luckily, it didn't bring my plane down, because the Golf world has been shaken up quite crazily," says Henson.
Ron Dizinno has coached Berry the past seven years and hopes this merger will ultimately benefit the players.
"You're going from our corporate way of living, which is what the PGA Tour, to a partnership now, and partnerships depend on who has the 51 percent. I don't think we know that yet. So whoever has 51 percent is going to eventually dictate what the rules and regulations are," says Dizinno.
While playing as a member of the Asian Tour, Berry has had a first hand look at the global golf stage.
"Ten years from now we're going to be looking at this, as possibly the biggest boost of golf that we've ever seen. And you're already seen it around the world. I mean, I live in Thailand, and I see how big golf is getting. And that's what this is going to bring. It's going to bring a more global presence to golf," says Henson.
He says at the end of the day the players just want to play golf.
