High-flying Swede relishing his comeback from career low.
Henrik Stenson is riding high in the FedEx Cup rankings. He’s one of the favourites to pick up the $10 million first prize when it reaches its climax next Sunday.
The Swedish golfer is buoyant after a runners-up spot in The Open in July and victory in the Deutsche Bank Championship two weeks ago. So it’s hard to believe that only two years ago the player had come to the stage he didn’t know where his next tee shot was going!
The former European Ryder Cup star and 2009 Players Championship winner was on the way down to the 230th spot in the World Rankings, but he says he’ll never forget the moment his plight really hit home.
“I’d been driving it so bad that I had totally lost confidence in my driver,” he recalls.
“I was standing on the 17th tee at St Andrews during the Dunhill Links Championship in 2011. I had so many negative thoughts about how it was the hardest tee shot in the world, with its intimidating out-of- bounds to the right and tough rough away left.
“As all this was going through my head, I glanced at my caddie and saw he was fumbling in his pocket to see if he had a spare ball.
“When your caddie is looking for a provisional before you’ve even hit your tee shot you know you have a problem!”
Stenson insists he never panicked during that period, even though the Swede, who had been No 4 in the world at his peak, found his ranking plumetting.
“There was frustration at the time, but I never got depressed,” he claims. “If you allow that to happen, and never think about bouncing back again, you’d never do it.
“A number of things have contributed to my comeback. I had a great team around me. I started Gareth Lord as my caddie, who was with Robert Karlsson for many years, and he’s been a good help.
“Pete Cowen has been my long-time coach, and my sports physio Cornel Driessen has put in a power of work with me. I’ve played a lot and travelled a lot, and if you want to do that you have to stay in great shape.
“I’m feeling better, but I’ll have a wee rest after next week before going off to the tournaments down in Asia.”
The 37-year-old believes patience was the final piece in his revival jigsaw.
“We focused on long-term solutions when we were mapping out a programme,” he reveals. “As more than me have discovered, when you have lost your game, short-term solutions don’t work.
“You need to take in all aspects of the game, and draw up a long-term plan to improve it, rather than a short-term one with a prayer.”
For Henrik, it has proved the winning formula thanks to that moment on the Road Hole at St Andrews!
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