Abu Dhabi: Henrik Stenson may have gone without a win in 2015 but he can still take a lot of positives from last season as he has finished second on six occasions. These results have done a world of good for his ranking, as he is still fifth in the world.
The 39-year-old, however, is coming into the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship after a surgery in early December to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.
“Knee looks fine on the inside but obviously it takes some time to recover, and it’s a fairly quick turnaround,” informed Stenson during the pre-tournament press briefing at the capital course.
The Swede, who had a similar operation in 2011, revealed it was a test for him to get back on his feet and his success in Abu Dhabi will depend on how he feels on course.
“Just getting back to walking normal and putting it to the test of walking 18 holes five days in a row is going to be the challenge. It feels fine hitting balls and that’s not an issue really. I did nine holes yesterday in Dubai. I haven’t played and walked that much so we’ll see how that holds up,” revealed Stenson, who summed up his 2015 as a good year “performance wise”, as he managed to get himself in contention several times.
“Yeah, it was a little frustrating, but at the same time I take big positives when I managed to perform with what I felt like was not my best game a lot of times. I have to stay patient and try and up that a little bit and hopefully, it will go my way in 2016,” asserted Stenson. He has won the DP World Tour Championship twice, the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, the Qatar Masters and the Race to Dubai title. However, somehow, he hasn’t managed to get his hands on the Falcon Trophy – a record that he would like to get straight, especially after having missed the cut on the last two occasions.
“It’s been a bit disappointing here but now since I’m very much practised and I’m fully fit, it shouldn’t happen again this year, right? Coming in limping on one leg,” laughed Stenson. Golf is currently seeing a huge shift with young players like Rory McIlroy, Jason Spieth, Rickie Fowler taking charge at the top. Stenson, who will be 40 in two months, however refuses to accept that the influx of youth by any means makes him feel like the elder in the pack.
“Definitely not”, Stenson shot back, bursting into laughter and adding, “I’m only 39 and there is a few months for me to turn 40. Well, the body certainly starts to feel it. I guess a bit in my mind I’m still probably somewhere between 15 and 18. I will try to stay that for long. What was that saying, you never grow up, you just learn how to act in public? So I guess I figured that one out.”
