Henrik Stenson no longer prophesies in Sweden
The Swedish Golf Association has severed ties with Henrik Stenson after his decision to join the dissident Greg Norman LIV Golf Circuit resulted in him being stripped of his role as Ryder Cup captain. Stenson’s stinginess that saw him replaced as head of the European Ryder Cup squad by Luke Donald continues to make waves.
The 46-year-old player who won the first of the tournaments he played at LIV received a letter in which the Swedish Golf Association explains that they have chosen to end their long-standing relationship.
Henrik Stenson, statements
– We believe that Henrik, given his involvement in LIV Golf, can no longer serve as a role model for Swedish junior golfers, says the association to the news agency TT.
Despite the organization’s decision, Stenson still plans to support initiatives for juniors and handicap golfers in his home country. A commitment that he confirmed on his own social networks. The association’s decision had the gift of somewhat annoying Ian Poulter, one of the Scandinavian’s best friends, who revoked Stenson’s record to express his disapproval.
Henrik Olof Stenson (born April 5, 1976 in Gothenburg) is a Swedish golfer, part of the PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour. In 2016, the year he also won the Olympic silver medal in Rio de Janeiro behind Justin Rose, Stenson won the Open Championship played at the Royal Troon Golf Club, becoming the first Swede to lift the Claret Jug: thanks to an extraordinary final round, adorned with ten birdies and finished on 63, he overcame a rival of great value, the American Phil Mickelson, over whom he prevailed by three advantages.
The final score of 264 (68, 65, 68 and 63) was well below par for the Royal Troon 20 (the 4 lap score does not compare to the par on a course). Stenson is left-handed but plays golf right-handed. What is striking about his game is that he rarely uses his driver; he executes most long shots (without using the tee) with a 3 wood, with which he agrees acceptable distances with high accuracy.
In the 2013 season, he led the PGA Tour in fairway hitting statistics with 72.65%, while still ranking 66th (out of 180) with a driving average of 290.9 yards (266 meters). This style of play also helped him rank #1 in the “Green in Regulation” stat (71.96%).
Two hallmarks of Stenson’s swing are a slight jerky weight shift to the right leg before the backswing begins, and a shortened forward swing that tends to keep the golf club in front of Stenson’s chest rather than swinging behind the neck or head like the majority of modern professional golfers.