Stenson battling stomach illness

OPEN champion Henrik Stenson has not fully recovered from the stomach virus which forced him out of the WGC-Mexico Championship as he seeks a first win of the season in the Valspar Championship.

Stenson was one of several players to be taken ill in Mexico City and withdrew from the £7.9 million event after 12 holes of his opening round at Chapultepec Golf Club.

However, the 41-yearold Swede is looking forward to returning to action at the Innisbrook Resort in Florida, where he was fourth in 2015, a shot outside the threeman play-off, and 11th last year.

“It’s good to be back,” said the world No 6, who has finished runner-up three times and recorded three other top-nine finishes in his last six completed events.

“It’s a golf course I think suits my game pretty well as the two previous visits have shown, and I hope I can be there on Sunday afternoon with a chance to win.

“It’s a second-shot golf course. It’s the five, six, seven, eight irons into the greens, and when I’m hitting it well, then that’s the strong part of my game. So it’s going to set up a lot of birdie chances.

“It’s the beginning of a stretch of tournaments leading into Augusta, so we want to try to get to the Masters in the right direction with where the game is at and what we need to keep on working on leading into the first Major of the year.”

Speaking about his health, Stenson added: “I’m not 100%. If you have a stomach upset or bug, it takes a little while to complete.

“I’m eating probiotics and can still feel a rumbling here and there. I don’t think we need to go into more details.

“I spoke to my coach Pete Cowen earlier, who was in Mexico, and he’s not in the best shape either, back in England. It was a lot of players, caddies and others that got upset stomachs.”