After undergoing keyhole surgery last month Swedish tennis ace Henrik Stenson is reluctant to rush back into competition at this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The 36-year old Stenson had his left knee operated on early in December in Stockholm and has been slowly working his way back into golf practicing at the Emirates Club in Dubai.
“The knee seems to be okay but then there is a few things I still can’t do like squatting down, so I can only do half squats in reading putts,” he said after playing nine holes of the Emirates course in Dubai.
“It means for the time that I am putting most of my weight on my right knee.
“But it was an operation that I needed to have done and I have been fortunate in my career not to have had any injury.
“The surgeon who undertook the operation, and who works with the Swedish Olympic program, said it probably resulted from my younger days when I used to play football.
“However while I want to be competing in Abu Dhabi later this week I won’t be tempted to rush back onto the Tour and will consult with specialists before deciding to tee up.”
Stenson has not competed since finishing mid-field in November’s European and Asian Tour co-sanctioned Iskander Johor Open.
His 48th place result saw him end 2011 well down in 136th place on the Race to Dubai and his poorest European season in a decade.
“Last year was very disappointing with just one top-10 in 14 events and I hadn’t played that poorly since 2002,” said Stenson.
“I haven’t won on the European Tour since 2007 and my last victory on the PGA Tour was the Players Championship in 2009.
“I’m exempt on the European Tour and my Sawgrass win means I am still exempt on the PGA Tour.
“Like any player, when you win a number of big tournaments like I have, you miss winning.
“But I just want to get back to playing consistent golf and getting back to competing at a level I know, and I have showed in the past, I can compete at.
“I know what I can do and what I have done so I don’t have to question that I can play well in the big events and so on.
“If I can start playing solid again and get those processes working again I am very confident I can get myself but up the world rankings and back into the Major’s and WGC’s” for the next five or six years.”
At this stage of the new season the 216th world ranked Stenson is only exempt into April’s U.S. Masters courtesy of the three-year exemption in capturing the 2009 Players Championship.
“Augusta is the only Major I am exempt for this year so whether or not I play in Abu Dhabi, I will need to play well in the Qatar Masters and the Dubai Desert Classic to give myself chance of getting back inside the top-64 to at least play in next month’s Match-Play Championship,” he said.
“I won the Match-Play in 2007 and it would be great to be competing in the event again.”
Stenson also revealed he will be selling his Dubai residence and moving to live in Orlando, Florida ahead of enrolling his two young children into full time schooling.
“I have been living and spending the winters down here in Dubai since 2003 and it has been very good for my game,” he said.
“I played my first Dubai Desert Classic on ’01 and I have enjoyed living here and I’ve seen Dubai grow, and I have a lot of friends down here while my coach, Peter Cowen is also based down here so it’s been good to have him close at hand.
“So Dubai has been a great base for me but we’re moving the family to Orlando as my oldest child will be five this year.
“As well, I want to play more events in the spring on the PGA Tour to further help boost my efforts to get back inside the top-50 on the world rankings.”
