Greensboro, NC …
Last year’s Open Champion Henrik Stenson has contested this week’s Wyndham Championship on three occasions in his illustrious career.
However, he enjoys a record that reads far from flattering for the affable Swede.
Stenson made his debut in the Greensboro, North Carolina event in 2010 to miss the cut and then returned a year later again missing the cut while at his last attempt in 2012 sickness forced him out following a first round 68.
“Two MCs and a WD so I haven’t had a lot of success in this event”, he said smiling.
Stenson has returned to the Sedgefield County Club course not only to make amends but also striving to win for a first occasion on U.S. soil in nearly four years since winning the 2013 PGA Tour No. 1 crown.
As well, the now 41-year old Stenson is looking to lift his current FedEx Cup standing in a city named after Major General Nathanel Greene, commander of the rebel American forces who took on Britain’s General Cornwallis and lost at the Battle of Guildford Court House in March 1781.
The Wyndham Championship is the final event on the regular PGA Tour 2016/17 wraparound schedule ahead of the start next week of the lucrative FedEx Cup Play-Off series.
Stenson is currently ranked 75th on the FedEx standings to be assured of teeing-up in a week’s time on New York’s Long Island where the top-125 will be attendance.
However, it will be just the top-70 who move onto the second event and then the top-60 for the third and finally the leading 30 will contest the September 21st Tour Championship in Atlanta.
“There’s a few different reasons why I’m here this week and one is, guarantee I get my numbers up on the PGA Tour as I need to have 15 and at this point I can only guarantee two other Playoffs,” he said.
“At the same time it’s a great opportunity to put myself in a better spot heading into next week’s Playoffs and I tried it out a couple different of ways.
“And looking back four years ago it worked out nicely almost to get the No. 1 spot in two different ways. I think I was positioned 9th in 2013 when it started and in 2015 I think I was 43rd when it started. I almost reached to the No. 1 position from totally different starting positions at the FedEx”.
Stenson is coming off a share of 13th in last week’s PGA Championship and a fortnight after sharing 11th place in the defence of his Open Championship title.
Though it has been a season where he missed the cut in the Masters and the U.S. Open.
“Looking back on the Majors I would rate my efforts a B-minus, C-plus”, he said.
“I didn’t show up at two of them and the other two I did quite decent performances last week and at The Open but it’s still a little bit away from where we want to be.
“I think anytime you’re inside the Top-10 you feel like you got to — a little bit of a chance to be in contention. Certainly satisfied.
“But I didn’t really get into contention at any one this year so we’ll have to do better on that next year”.
