Open Champion Henrik Stenson reveals what it feels like to come out on top in one of the most thrilling ever finales to a Major Championship
What does it feel like to have won your first Open Championship and your first Major title?
I’m very happy. I’m very proud of the way I played. It was a great match with Phil [Mickelson]. It seemed like it was going to be a two-horse race, and it was, all the way to the end. I knew he wasn’t going to back down at any point, and in a way that made it easier for me. I knew I had to keep on pushing, keep on giving myself birdie chances. He wasn’t going to give it to me, so I had to fight for every shot. I’m just delighted I managed to do that with a couple of birdies at the right time on the final stretch.
After three second places and six third places in majors, did you ever feel that it was going to be your turn?
It’s not something you want to run around and shout, but I really felt like this was going to be my turn. I knew I was going to have to battle back if it wasn’t, but I think that was the extra self-belief that made me go all the way. I felt like my time had come.
At times it felt like we were watching a heavyweight boxing match. Did it feel like that to you and how emotionally and phyically drained do you feel right now?
Yeah, it certainly did. We managed to pull away from the rest of the field, and we both played some great golf. It makes it even more special to beat a competitor like Phil. He’s been one of the best to play the game – certainly in the last 20 years – so to come out on top after such a fight with him over four days makes it even more special. Right now I’m running on adrenaline, but I’m sure I struggle to make it up the stairs when I get back to the house tonight.
You dedicated your victory to your friend, Mike Gerbich. Could you just explain who he was and what he meant for you?
Mike was one of my good friends back in my days in Dubai. I’d known him for many, many years, and he was a very keen golfer and a great man. He had been battling cancer for a long time, but he passed away on Wednesday morning over in America. He’d always been there as a big supporter of mine, and in good days and bad days he’d always sent me messages and been out at some events. This one is dedicated to him, for sure. I felt like he was there with me this week.
After all the great Swedish players that have come before you, how does it feel to be the one to finally bring a Major title home for your country?
It’s been a long time coming, but I feel very privileged to be the one to hold this trophy. There have been many great Swedish players in recent years and decades, and there have been a couple of really close calls: Jesper [Parnevik], in particular, twice. He sent me a message today – ‘Go out and finish what I didn’t manage to finish’ – and I’m really proud to have done that. This win is going to be massive for golf in Sweden.
What gave you the self-belief that this was going to be your week?
I think that winning the BMW International in Germany last month was a huge boost for me. After so many near misses over the last 12 or 18 months, to finally get myself over the line in a big event like that gave me a big confidence boost. I was beginning to feel the pressure mounting up from not having won for a while, so it was great to release that and was able to bring that with me here. I felt like I was swinging really well, and playing some great golf, and somewhere deep inside I had this feeling that this was going to be my time, and thankfully it was.
Over which shot do you think you felt the most pressure, what was it like, and how did you handle it?
Well, the putt on 16 was huge. I mean, Phil missed his eagle putt, so it looked like it was going to go in, and I expected him to make every putt; you have to. And it just snuck by, and I’m standing over a five-footer downhill to keep ahead. That was a very important putt to make. Then, coming up on par-3 17th, I just knew I had to hit a good shot and hit the green, and not make worse than three there. The way it’s set up, it could have been all done and dusted after my really good 4-iron to 10 feet and Phil missed it down the bank. But given it’s Phil, of course he scrambled a three, and I nearly missed my birdie putt. But it could have been a more comfortable walk coming up 18, if 17 had ended up in a different way. But I considered myself lucky on 16 there. All in all it worked out. But the putt on 16 was probably the most pressured one.
The whole round seemed so relentless. Did you sense that every shot mattered?
Yeah, I knew Phil was going to be there pushing me all the way, and I just tried to stick to my game plan, play the best I could, and put the best score together that I could. Again, there was a key moment on 14 when I had a 20-footer for birdie, and I just thought to myself, ‘How many chances am I going to have to try to pull away, because I know he’s not going to make too many mistakes?’ So I just knew I had to take it. I got that one, and moved one in front. And then I just made an absolute bomb on 15. Those two putts were the ones that pulled me ahead and put me two in front. Then I hit some solid shots coming in to stay that way.
How important is experience when it comes to playing links golf?
I think the demands of links golf really play into the hands of more experienced players. We saw Tom’s [Watson] remarkable performance in 2009 at Turnberry, so even a few guys that are a little bit older than I am have enjoyed great success at The Open Championship. But experience definitely plays a big part of it. Yeah, it was quite an old-looking leaderboard for a change, I guess.
With all the records that you broke, and finally getting over the line, what on earth do you do for an encore? Do you still have the hunger to try to win even more of these prizes?
Yes, we’re only just getting started, aren’t we? You never know, once you open the floodgates, what might happen. Yeah, it’s going to be a while before this sinks in. It’s going to be a much busier week next week than I expected. I was going to have a nice couple of relaxed days back home with the family. We’ll see how well that goes. But it’s all good things that will happen.
How important was the support of the galleries out there?
I guess I’m a third Scottish now, aren’t I? No, I really felt the support out there, even though Phil is a very popular major champion and a very popular player. There was a lot of encouragement for Phil, but also for me out there, so I really want to thank the fans for doing their part. They were really pushing me on.
It wasn’t that long ago that you were really struggling with your game and fell in the world rankings. Did you ever think then that this was possible?
Yeah, the second slump in my career was nothing compared to the one I had in the early 2000s. So I managed to put my game together, with a lot of hard work, and a lot of help from my team, and support from my family and friends, and everyone else. If I didn’t believe, I wouldn’t be sitting here. It’s a dream come true. I was 11 when I started playing. But it was the Ryder Cup and The Open Championship – those were the big early memories I had. So to be holding this trophy is really amazing.