stenson: i'll take the pressure
Stenson - says he can handle the pressure.
By Phil Casey, PA Sport
In 2001, the K Club was the setting for the lowest point of Henrik Stenson's career. Five years on, it will be the scene for the undoubted highlight so far when the Swede competes in his first Ryder Cup as Europe look to defend the trophy won in record-breaking fashion at Oakland Hills. Back in 2001 Stenson had won his first European Tour title in the Benson and Hedges International - ironically at another famous Ryder Cup venue, The Belfry - and looked set to fulfil the promise first shown when he topped the Challenge Tour rankings the year before with three tournament victories. But starting from the 10th tee alongside Miguel Angel Jimenez and Sandy Lyle, Stenson needed three tee shots before he hit one he thought he could find. A few holes later another wild tee shot ended around 400 yards away from his previous efforts in practice, and after nine holes he had simply had enough. "After nine holes I told the guys they'd be better off without me," Stenson admitted. For the rest of the season Stenson made just four halfway cuts as his game collapsed, finishing the year with an opening 81 in the Volvo Masters. That was where he began working with renowned coach Pete Cowen and set about rebuilding his swing from scratch. Not surprisingly things got worse before they got better and Stenson even resorted to hitting the ball with his eyes closed. "I got a mental block and I was scared I wouldn't be right at the moment of impact," he recalled. "So I tried it shutting my eyes and it helped." The 30-year-old made just seven cuts in 2002 and finished 176th on the Order of Merit, but slowly began to see a light at the end of the tunnel. He improved to 68th on the money list in 2003 and finally demonstrated he was back to his best with victory in The Heritage event at Woburn in 2004. In 2005 Stenson was consistency personified with just three missed cuts in 24 events, and crucially made a flying start when Ryder Cup qualifying began in September with a run of one victory, two seconds and two thirds in the space of seven events. His place in the side was effectively sealed when he finished third in the unofficial 'fifth major', the Players Championship back in March, and now he is itching to get on the first tee at the K Club. "I'm very excited about it, it's going to be fantastic I hope," he told PA Sport. "It's been something that's been with me since I was a kid starting to play golf. I've followed every one of them and can even remember places I've been when the Ryder Cup is on. "It's going to be something out of this world to be part of it. "Watching it at The Belfry even influenced me to have a go at driving the 10th green when I won the Benson and Hedges in 2001 because I'd watched Seve (Ballesteros) and (Jose Maria) Olazabal drive it the Ryder Cup." Stenson's length off the tee and aggressive approach should make him the ideal Ryder Cup player, especially in fourballs, and he already has success in team events under his belt. "I like the matchplay, foursomes and fourballs and you play that format quite a bit as an amateur," added Stenson, who lost just one of his five matches in the Seve Trophy last year and won all three in the inaugural Royal Trophy in Thailand in January, securing victory for Europe with a 5&4 defeat of home favourite Thongchai Jaidee in the final singles match. "In the fourballs if I'm playing well I feel I can really go for it and be aggressive and make a lot of birdies and I just seem to raise my game to the occasion a little bit. Hopefully I can be in decent shape and do the same at the K Club. "I feel I can handle the pressure and play well under the gun and I always felt I've been fairly easy to play with, I could play with anybody. Depending on the format I can play with anybody." With his place in the team long since secure, Stenson's game almost inevitably went off the boil, but he finished 14th at the USPGA at Medinah after sharing the lead at halfway. "I think it's important the European players put down a marker, show we're in form and that we're up for it," he added. There will be no worries on that score.
