Stenson’s team talk a huge irony
Swede chose LIV millions over Ryder Cup
THE STENCH of irony was impossible to escape as Henrik Stenson stood in front of the microphones on Friday evening and reflected on his first 18 holes as a paid-up member of golf’s rebel cause.
‘It’s the best I’ve played all year,’ Stenson said after a seven-underpar 64 at Bedminster that put him in a share of the lead. Not bad for the world No 173. Not bad for a 46-yearold who has not won on the PGA Tour since 2017.
It was all rather comical because, really, LIV Golf did not pay £40million for Stenson to win tournaments. His defection was a naked provocation of golf’s old order, an ominous statement that proved not even the Ryder Cup captaincy would prevent players from being lured across the sport’s yawning fault lines.
Stenson himself made no mention of chasing titles during his press conference this week. He conceded that the money played a role in his decision. The Swede also claimed the team aspect of LIV Golf was among the attractions. In New Jersey he is part of ‘Majesticks’, alongside Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter.
‘I played golf with these guys for 20-plus years, so to be teaming up with them here this week, it’s something I look forward to,’ Stenson said. ‘We always had a lot of fun together and I would imagine that will continue.’
Stenson, Poulter and Westwood will hope so, given this move has jeopardised their future in golf’s most cherished team event.
Together, they have written a rich history in Ryder Cup matches between Europe and the USA. But so far, battles between Iron Heads, Majesticks and Fireballs have been lost in LIV’s festival of greed.
The concept appears to be yet another sideshow — an excuse to add a further $5million to the prize pot — in a project where golf feels a mere after-thought. This week has made clear, however, that LIV see their team competition as a vital point of difference, an innovation that will help sustain this breakaway when initial intrigue begins to wane.
Time and again at Bedminster, players have shoehorned it into their answers. Take Phil Mickelson on Friday. ‘I notice how people like to identify with a team rather than just individuals,’ he said. ‘That’s something I don’t fully grasp, how big that could be.’
Patrick Reed added: ‘Team golf is always amazing, always fun. I can go out there and play for something other than just myself, I’m playing for my team-mates.’
It does not help that, at the
moment, team members are being shuffled around as the cast list changes. Next year, LIV will expand to a 14-tournament league featuring 12 fixed teams. The hope is that these teams will become an avenue to bring money in, rather than another excuse to pump it out.
LIV plan to sell the teams off — much like in Formula One — and build them into brands, with ‘equity being held by the league and by the players’.
‘Teams get valued, teams get sold. We are introducing that concept into golf,’ explained LIV chief Atul Khosla.
Until then, this remains a long way from the world — and the teams — Stenson has left behind.