HENRIK STENSON HAS become a of stalwart of the Ryder Cup.
It’s 12 years since the Swede got his first call to represent Europe at the K Club and helped Ian Woosnam’s side to a convincing victory over the US. Tomorrow morning, Stenson will make his fifth appearance in the blue and yellow of Team Europe.
Despite the competition’s team format remaining starkly at odds to traditional golf’s single-player focus, audiences have become engrossed in the battle between the two teams from either side of the Atlantic.
Paris becomes the focus ahead of tomorrow’s opening four balls and speaking in the French capital this morning, Stenson was optimistic about the future of the tournament.
“2006 to 2018, there’s a few years in there,” he said.
I don’t know, it might be at least another 20 years before we’ve got floating stands in the sky or something, I don’t know.
“But it’s certainly gotten bigger and bigger, and the atmosphere on that first tee is phenomenal, so really excited to see what that’s going to be like.
“I think everyone is going to feel that first tee. That’s normal for The Ryder Cup. And given the size and the setup we have here this week, which looks absolutely phenomenal, it’s going to be something different, something special.”
The US return to European soil in the hopes of a first overseas win in 25 years and bring perhaps their strongest team in recent memory with them to Le Golf National.
Among them, golfing superstar Tiger Woods who comes off the back of a first win in his comeback season. Scenes on the final green on Sunday evening at the Tour Championship in Atlanta were enough to signal a turning point in the career of perhaps the greatest golfer ever to play the game.
“Obviously all credit to Tiger to go out there and win the Tour Championship. He’s had a great comeback, and as long as the body was holding up, I think everyone was thinking that that was a possibility, and all credit to him for making that happen.”
Stenson insisted that Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose’s inability to put any pressure on Woods in the final round would impact their mentality heading into the Ryder Cup.
“I guess for Justin, the main goal was achieved in winning the FedExCup from the position he was in, and yeah, Rory might have wanted a slightly different Sunday. But that’s golf, and that was last week.
“So I don’t think any of that will matter this week.”
As for his own impact on proceedings this week in France, the 42-year-old says he is satisfied with the shape he is in heading into the tournament and gave update on a niggling elbow injury.
“It’s been dragging on a bit, but I mean, I’ve thought for the most part I’ve been fit enough to play competitive golf.
“It’s been probably more a hinder in the gym and not being able to do certain things and having to watch that a bit. But we hope that it’s going to be completely gone there in a while. We’re just managing it, and it doesn’t really affect my golfing capabilities at this point.
“It’s something we hope we can leave behind us shortly.”
Action kicks off tomorrow morning with the first tee time at 7.10am Irish time.