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Charles Schwab Challenge purse, payouts: Russell Henley overtakes Eric Cole in a playoff to win at Colonial

At long last, it seemed as if Eric Cole was finally going to pick up his inaugural PGA Tour win on Sunday afternoon.

Russell Henley ruined that moment.

Henley came surging ahead down the stretch and ended with three straight birdies to force a playoff at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. Henley then made quick work of Cole on the opening playoff hole, and stuck his approach just four feet from the cup for an easy birdie and the win.

And as a result, Henley will take home a $1.782 million check.

“I’m still just kind of shaken,” Henley said on CBS. “That was as nervous as I’ve been over a putt my whole life.”

Cole entered the final round with a one-shot lead, thanks to a 7-under 63 he posted on Saturday. He made four birdies in his first eight holes of the third round and matched the best round of the tournament at that point.

Cole got off to a quick start on Sunday, too, and opened the round with back-to-back birdies. But he made the turn back with just a share of the lead after a rough double bogey at the ninth, which just barely stopped short of the cup. Cole offset that bogey with a birdie two holes later, and then rode out his round with seven straight pars the rest of the way.

Meanwhile, Henley was making a surge in the group ahead. Henley, who opened with an eagle and a birdie, finished his day with three straight birdies to grab a share of the lead after he sank a huge putt on the final green.

That was enough to force the playoff, and eventually set up Henley’s win.

Cole entered this week at No. 117 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He now has three top-10 finishes in his last four starts. Cole turned professional back in 2009, and this was his 120th start on Tour. The 37-year-old, who wears the MLB logo on his shirt, is the son of two former professional golfers. His father, Bobby Cole, won once in his PGA Tour career back at the 1977 Buick Open. Cole’s mother, Laura Baugh, was the LPGA’s Rookie of the Year in 1973.

Cole has now finished in second three times in his career.

“It’s very disappointing, obviously,” Cole said. “I felt like I played pretty well today, for the most part … It’s disappointing, but I played well and I’m proud of that.”

Henley, who carded a 3-under 67, has now won six times on Tour in his career. He finished T3 at the Masters last month, but missed the cut at the PGA Championship.

“I think the longer you play this game, you want more, you want more success,” Henley said. “I feel like I’ve just worked harder and harder, and I feel like I’ve been a little off just mentally this year, really.

“I just feel like I fought really hard through the end. It just felt really good to see an awesome result.”

Here’s a look at how much Henley and the rest of the field earned this week in Fort Worth.

Charles Schwab Challenge payouts

1. Russell Henley — $1.782 million
2. Eric Cole — $1.0791 million
T3. Ben Griffin, Alex Smalley, Mac Meissner — $524,700
T6. Gary Woodland, Michael Brennan, Nico Echavarria, J.J. Spaun — $322,988
T10. Steven Fisk, Mackenzie Hughes, Ryan Gerard — $249,975
T13. Justin Thomas, Jordan Smith, Hideki Matsuyama — $193,875
16. Michael Thorbjornsen — $170,775
T17. Rico Hoey, Michael Kim, Andrew Putnam, A.J. Ewart, Ludvig Åberg — $141,075
T22. Max Homa, Brice Garnett, Zach Bauchou, Matt Kuchar, Pierceson Coody, Brian Harman — $92,400
T28. Brandt Snedeker, Keita Nakajima, Akshay Bhatia, Doug Ghim — $69,550
T32. Garrick Higgo, Lanto Griffin, Christiaan Bezuidenhout — $59,070
T35. J.T. Poston, Keegan Bradley, Max McGreevy, Kevin Yu, Davis Thompson, Lee Hodges, Johnny Keefer — $47,237
T42. Kevin Streelman, Joel Dahmen, Emiliano Grillo, Adrien Saddier, Ricky Castillo, Jeffrey Kang, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Austin Smotherman, Sam Stevens, Robert MacIntyre, Billy Horschel, Chandler Blanchet — $29,766
T54. Seamus Power, Luke Clanton, Takumi Kanaya, Patrick Fishburn, Andrew Novak, Tom Kim — $23,018
T60. Mark Hubbard, Patrick Rodgers, Nick Dunlap, Matt McCarty, Sahith Theegala, Taylor Moore — $21,780
66. Ryo Hisatsune — $21,087
T67. Thorbjørn Olesen, Jackson Suber, Austin Eckroat — $20,691
70. Erik van Rooyen — $20,295
T71. Tom Hoge, Lucas Glover, Davis Riley — $19,899
T74. Kevin Roy, Adam Schenk — $19,404