Golf Shot

To say that golf is a popular sport is an understatement, with golf fans from all over the world obsessively following it and admiring its players, and it is easy to see why. It is a game that produces some incredible athletes and some true champions.

Of course there is Tiger Woods, who has been dubbed one of the greatest golfers in history by more than one golfing commentator and official ranking. Though his form has not been the greatest in 2009, having lost every major tournament. Hot at the moment is South Korea’s YE Yang, who became the first Asian winner of a major when he beat Tiger Woods to take the USPGA this year.

Henrik Stenson

But perhaps one of the most talked about players in golf at the moment is Henrik Stenson, Sweden’s best golfer, who has spent a considerable amount of time in the World Top Ten. Having been introduced to the sport of golf as a teenager by a friend of the family, he was already a scratch handicap at 18 years of age and was representing Sweden as an amateur. Henrik Stenson then turned professional in 1998 and, after a quiet couple of years, managed to finish top of the Challenge Tour rankings in 2000. He then went on to win the Benson and hedges International Open in the following year, and has been selected for the last two Ryder Cup sides.

The Ryder Cup is a golfing meet in which teams of twelve from Europe and the US compete. Some matches in the Ryder Cup consist of players from the same team taking alternate shots throughout the match at the same ball and each hole is won by the team that gets it in with the least amount of shots. Others consist of smaller teams where each player plays their own ball throughout, the winning team being the one with the golfer that has the lowest score. Henrik Stenson made a confident Ryder Cup debut in 2006 where he potted the winning put as he beat Vaughan Taylor in the singles and put forth an impressive performance in the foursomes, ensuring a European victory. From this time he has gone from strength to strength and is considered one of the most consistent performers not only in European, but world golf in recent seasons.

Though Henrik Stenson has not won a US Open, many believe that he has the potential to do so in the future, though he plays golf in the US decidedly less than many of his European counterparts. Traditionally, it has been near impossible for a non-American to win the US Open for various reasons. Though this seems to have changed with the turn of the century, meaning that Henrik Stenson may just have a chance if he continues with his top form. The US Open is the second of the year’s four majors, having just been played in June of this year.

Henrik Stenson made golf history in 2009 when he stripped to his boxer shorts to play a shot out of a muddy bog during the first round of the WGC-CA Championships, proving that he has the personality to make him a truly loveable golf champion.

He is ranked fourth in the world, and it is unsurprising as to why as Henrik Stenson continues to impress with consistently unfaltering form.