POPULAR HENRIK’S CLASS SHINES THROUGH
THE change in stature brought about by a major title can probably be best explained by the reaction of young South Korean golfer Yi Keun Chang when he learned he was to play with Henrik Stenson in yesterday’s third round.
‘I was jumping up and down,’ said Chang. ‘It was the most exciting thing ever. I just spent the whole round watching him and trying to learn from him. It was just so much fun to be out there with somebody like that.’
As it turned out, there was much to be liked about Stenson and his golf yesterday.
The defending champion played beautifully from the moment he opened up with two birdies and the round of 65 that left him on the fringes of contention could actually have been a couple of strokes better.
Last year at Troon, Stenson shot an eight-under par 63 to edge out Phil Mickelson in the final round and it seems like something similar may be required if he is to be in the thick of it once more late this afternoon at Royal Birkdale. If he strikes the ball as well as he did yesterday then such an effort is not out of the question.
‘I wonder if even that may not be enough,’ Stenson said. ‘But it’s good to get a little further up the list. I have had a great support this week and a great reception on every green.
‘It has been really special and hopefully I can give people something good to watch in the last round. They obviously haven’t forgotten last year, and that’s great.’
This has not been the week that Stenson anticipated on Merseyside, the break-in at his rented property in Formby interrupting the thrill of defending his title.
But yesterday you wouldn’t have known. The Swede has such a steady temperament that it is hard to tell what, if anything, is going on behind the dark glasses apart from the uncomplicated process of concentrating on his next shot.
‘It wasn’t a nice incident and not something you want to go through,’ the 41-year-old said.
‘It was a lot of hassle getting my clothes sorted and everything. But I am happy to inform you that I haven’t lost anything else in the last couple of days, so things are pretty good now!’
The Gothenberg native had plenty of support on a warm afternoon. One couple from Stenson’s own country wore Sweden football shirts by the side of the 11th and a peek inside the pram beside them revealed that their toddler was wearing one too.
Many of the cries of support had local accents, too, and Stenson seemed to appreciate it, fist bumping with young supporters as he passed from green to tee on the back nine.
Some of this stems from last year’s success in Scotland but, equally, this is the effect of the Ryder Cup and the role Europeans like Stenson have played in it. He was on the winning sides in 2006 and 2014, as well as 2008 and 2016.
Yesterday’s birdies on the opening two holes were followed by a bogey on the difficult sixth. But that was to be his only shot dropped to par all afternoon and it was clawed back at the eighth before an hour of almost perfect golf on the back nine yielded birdies on the 12th, 14th and 15th.
Only once did Stenson falter, a big pull on the par-five 17th finding the foot of a grandstand by the green. That denied him another birdie opportunity while a putt for a three
Happily, I haven’t lost anything else over the last couple of days
on the last ran out of gas just as it looked as though he might be about to reach four under for the tournament.
The conditions were perfect, Birkdale rendered vulnerable by the benign weather.
With more of the same forecast for today, Stenson will fancy his chances of being involved deep into the afternoon.
Asked about young Chang’s excitement about playing with him, he laughed: ‘I think it’s actually because he is 23 and I am 41 and he said he had watched me on TV growing up!
‘But it was a good day and I enjoyed it.’