Swede dreams for Stenson
Posted: 15 July 2009
Henrik Stenson is aiming to go one step further than his Swedish compatriot Jesper Parnevik did on the Ailsa course fifteen years ago and claim victory in The Open Championship.
Turnberry has been home to three compelling Opens, the last of which took place in 1994 when Zimbabwe’s Nick Price made a dramatic eagle at the 71st hole to overtake Parnevik.
Price had been runner-up to Tom Watson in 1982 and Seve Ballesteros in 1988 and another near-miss looked on the cards at Turnberry when Parnevik went to the final tee three in front. However, the Swede would bogey the last while Price followed a birdie on the 16th with a 50-foot eagle putt at the next and clinched victory with a par four.
“It just shows how small the margins are and how close it was back in ’94 that we had a Swedish winner because I remember watching it afterwards and I still thought Jesper was going to win it when I watched the reruns!” said Stenson. “It was unfortunate for him and better for Price, but that’s how small the margins are when it can swing around like that, a three-shot swing in tow shots, basically.”
Stenson will be competing at Turnberry for the first time and with a break in his schedule headed to the Ayrshire venue early to put in some additional work with his coach and to familiarise himself with the Ailsa course.
“It’s a beautiful golf course in good condition and a very scenic place. It’s going to be good fun to play it. It’s my first trip to Turnberry, so I haven’t been here before. I think it required a little bit more preparation. And also, given my schedule, I had two weeks off leading into this one,” he said.
“So it was a good time to go over a little bit earlier and get an extra round in and catch up with my coach and get a little bit of extra work, so I’m as well prepared as I can be and I think heading towards a good week.”<
The world number eight finished an excellent third at Royal Birkdale last year and when he wins, he tends to win big. Last year he captured the WGC-Accenture Match Play in Arizona and this year he beat another world-class field to land the prestigious Players Championship at Sawgrass.
The set-up of the Ailsa course could also work to his advantage. The driver may not be require off many of the tees at Turnberry and that means Stenson can hit his favourite 3-wood - a club which served him so well at Sawgrass where he hit 73% of the fairways. Stenson says his stock 3-wood typically flies 270 yards and that should put him in great position to attack receptive greens.
“It’s going to be a difficult tee shot, but it’s fair and square, and in good condition,” he said. “I’ve spent a lot of time on this - how to attack the greens and pin positions and so on. And I normally like when you have to put a bit of think into it. It’s that type of course, for sure, and the rough is quite brutal if you end up in the wrong spot.”
