Henley's late Sunday surge denied fellow 37-year-old Cole his first PGA Tour win on a day when Ben Griffin came up just short of becoming the only player other than Ben Hogan to win consecutive tournaments at Colonial.
"Still kind of speechless about it," Henley said after earning his sixth PGA Tour victory. "Hard to believe I'm sitting here."
Playing in the group ahead of Cole, he closed with a three-under 67. After making 15-foot putts at the 171-yard 16th hole and the par-4 17th, Henley got to 12 under with a 17-footer on the par-4 18th.
Cole shot an even-par 70. He parred the final seven holes - eight counting the playoff.
Henley and Cole finished a stroke ahead of Griffin (65), Alex Smalley (68) and Mac Meissner (69).
The drives for Henley and Cole on the extra hole, playing No.18 again, stopped in the fairway — Cole getting a huge break after his ball bounced through the left rough before settling on the edge of the short grass. Henley hit his approach shot first, and Cole hit his to 13 feet and missed the birdie attempt.
Cole, in his 120th PGA Tour start, never fell out of the lead in regulation during the final round, even when finishing the front nine with his first double bogey (or worse) in a span of 316 holes.
"I was proud with the way I played. I think I played solid for the most part. ... I just needed to shave a shot somewhere," said Cole. "It's disappointing, but I still feel good and happy with the way I played."
Henley started the day with an eagle at the 577-yard first hole and a birdie at the 390-yard second, but quickly gave all three of those shots back with bogeys at Nos. 3-5 — the aptly-named Horrible Horseshoe at Colonial. He had another bogey at No. 9, making the turn at 8 under.
Defending tournament champion Griffin, who started the day six strokes back after three consecutive rounds of 68, had five birdies on the front nine.
But he didn't have another until a 25-foot putt at the 17th hole to get to 11 under, within a stroke of Cole six holes behind him.
Hogan, a five-time winner, twice had back-to-back victories. He won the first two Colonials ever played in 1946 and 1947, then had consecutive wins again in 1952 and 1953. His last win was in 1959.
