Dubai: Henrik Stenson said he was happy with his start to the year despite just missing out on winning his second Omega Dubai Desert Classic since 2007 on Sunday.
The Swede shot a less than perfect 69 to finish three strokes behind eventual winner Sergio Garcia, with bogeys on 12 and 15 leaving him perhaps thinking what might have been.
That said, he had come into Abu Dhabi two weeks ago with no practice to finish tied for eighth and now has his second top 10 in two events for 2017, after this second-place finish in Dubai.
“I’m happy with the progress I’ve made here over the last couple of weeks,” he said. “I came into Abu Dhabi with virtually no practice and I didn’t have much time to practice there either.
“The couple of days I had here in Dubai before the tournament did me good and I managed to pick up some pace.
“My game is getting in the right direction, and to be able to contend and only be a few behind, even though you’re not feeling your best, is always nice.”
The 2016 British Open and Race to Dubai champion was up to within two strokes of Garcia before bogeying 15, that’s after having started the day three behind and having fallen back to four behind at the turn.
“I was chasing all day and trying to push even though I didn’t play my best,” he said.
“I was hoping to make it a bit interesting coming into the last couple of holes. If you’re one or two behind ahead of 17 and 18 a lot of things can happen. You can eagle and someone else can end up in trouble.
“So I was trying hard to push and then we picked the wrong wind and the wrong shot at the same time. So, I airmailed the green on 15 and that led to a bogey. And Sergio hit a good shot to within three feet [to birdie] and from there it was pretty much game, set and match.”
“He played solid,” Stenson added of Garcia. “I played three of the four rounds with him this week and he put a really good score together the first day and just carried that momentum throughout the whole week.
“He kept it tidy, took his chances when he had them and saved himself when he needed to. He did all the things you need to do to win a tournament, so congratulations to him. He’s a worthy champion and I’ll be back next year trying to make it a second time.”
In 17 appearances in Dubai, Stenson has now recorded seven top 10s.
Leading fourth-round scores in the $2.5 million Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday at the par-72 Emirates Golf Club:
269 — Sergio Garcia (ESP) 65-67-68-69
272 — Henrik Stenson (SWE) 68-68-67-69
274 — Lasse Jensen (DEN) 69-70-70-65, Tyrrell Hatton (ENG) 72-70-65-67
276 — Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG) 69-72-68-67, Peter Uihlein (USA) 69-68-69-69
277 — Brandon Stone (RSA) 70-69-70-68, George Coetzee (RSA) 66-70-70-71
278 — Stephen Gallacher (SCO) 72-71-69-66, Magnus A Carlsson (SWE) 71-68-71-68
279 — Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 71-69-69-70, Nacho Elvira (ESP) 67-68-72-72
280 — Graeme McDowell (NIR) 68-72-68-72, Raphael Jacquelin (FRA) 70-71-66-73
281 — Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 70-71-73-67, Chris Paisley (ENG) 71-66-70-74, Prom Meesawat (THA) 69-68-68-76, Ian Poulter (ENG) 67-71-67-76
282 — Anirban Lahiri (IND) 69-75-70-68, Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA) 72-71-70-69, Chris Wood (ENG) 70-72-68-72, Maximillian Kieffer (GER) 69-70-70-73
