Photos: Sean Ward
Henrik Stenson had a hell of a two weeks. After the Swede made the decision to join the LIV tour he was promptly tossed off his perch as captain of the European Ryder Cup team. For his LIV debut, Stenson headed right into a storm awaiting at Trump National Golf Course in New Jersey, where all the controversy surrounding the Saudi backed league was magnified at the former president’s golf course in the shadows of NYC.
Henrik Stenson drives off the 1st tee to start his round on Sunday.
Riding all this emotion, you would figure Stenson, who’s subdued to begin with, would need a little time to adjust to a new league whose slogan is, “Golf But Louder”. Not so. Riding his trusty 3-wood of all clubs, Stenson tore up a very challenging golf course that many of his fellow pros struggled with all week, on his way to an 11-under par victory over 54 holes, 2 strokes clear of Dustin Johnson and Matthew Wolff.
If Stenson’s decision was purely financial then it paid off immediately. He pocketed a staggering 4.375 million. Four million for the top prize and an additional $375,000, which is his share for the team competition. Stenson’s team, Majestick’s GC, captained by Lee Westwood, was runner up to 4 Aces GC, captained by Dustin Johnson.
Stenson, 46, the 2016 US Open Champion, who hasn’t won since the 2019 Hero Challenge, credited a little extra motivation for his success, “When we as players have that, I think we can bring out the good stuff. I guess that’s been a bit of a theme over the course of my career. I think when I really want something I manage to dig a little deeper and a lot of times we manage to make it happen.”
Don’t miss a special edition of the More Sports Now Podcast where we’ll discuss LIV Golf and the PGA. Posting Tuesday afternoon.
Dustin Johnson drives off the 1st tee under the watchful eye of LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman.
Phil Mickelson has not gotten his game going since joining LIV but things are all good after a tap in par.
