Stenson finds drive to pip Poulter
Henrik Stenson became only the third European after Sandy Lyle and Sergio Garcia to win The Players Championship, the unofficial fifth ‘Major’, when a final-round 66 secured a four-shot victory over England’s Ian Poulter at TPC Sawgrass last night.
Stenson, 33, who revealed recently that “a big part” of his savings were tied up in the Stanford Financial Group, which is under investigation for alleged fraud, collected a £1.12m winner’s cheque to offset any potential losses.
More significantly, he achieved the biggest win of his career by driving the ball almost flawlessly in his final two rounds and demonstrating a consummate short game as well as diamond-hard nerve.
The bunker shot he played from the back of the third green, with the pin 5ft above his ball and a small landing area to hit, was the stroke of a player of the highest calibre and it set the tone for his round.
No challenge would be too great.
He birdied the seventh and ninth holes to reach the turn in 34, two under par, and made four more birdies on the back nine, with not a single dropped shot to spoil his scorecard.
World No9 Stenson has long been one of the most talented players in the game but his driving has been a recurring problem.
In his first year on the European Tour in 2001 he walked out of the European Open from pure frustration, but coaching from sports psychologist Dr Bob Rotella has helped him produce several solid performances, although this was his first win in a strokeplay tournament on the US PGA Tour.
Stenson was one of six players who began the day five shots behind overnight leader Alex Cejka, who suffered from nerves and shot 42 on the opening nine holes.
It was left to Poulter to test Stenson and the 33-year-old from Hertfordshire did his best, dropping only one shot and picking up three birdies in an impressive round of 70.
On the 15th he fired his 153-yard approach to 5ft and holed the putt confidently to close to within two strokes of Stenson but the Swede, who watched his Ryder Cup colleague’s birdie from further back in the fairway, responded instantly.
His nine-iron from 152 yards landed 2½ft from the pin and yielded his fifth birdie of the day. He finished on 12 under.
Londoner Brian Davis, 34, shot a final-round 71 to finish six strokes behind Stenson and tied for fifth.
Tiger Woods, playing alongside Cejka in the final group, began in a tie for second place on six under but his hopes of winning only his second Players Championship disintegrated when he hit his second shot into the water on the par-five second hole.
