Stenson storms home to claim Heritage
The 28-year-old from Gothenburg, who after capturing the 2001 Benson and Hedges International at The Belfry slumped to 176th on the Order of Merit the following season, beat Spain’s Carlos Rodiles by four - after birdies at the 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th.
That sparkling run came after Rodiles had birdied six of the last nine holes himself for a 65 that cut the gap to one, but Stenson went away again to finish with a 66 and 19 under par total of 269.
Another Swede, Patrik Sjoland, was third and Anders Hansen from Denmark was fourth, while there was real drama as England’s Simon Wakefield rescued a closing bogey six for a share of fifth place.
A lowly 146th on the Order of Merit, Wakefield set his sights on a £50,000 cheque to save his tour career and earned £44,970 - but only after he hit a two-iron out of bounds down the last and then finished behind a tree before making a 30-foot putt.
It leaves him 114th on the money list and needing one more good week from the three tournaments he has left to avoid returning to qualifying school. The top 115 keep their cards.
Stenson led the Benson and Hedges International from start to finish in his first full season on the main circuit and, having won the “second division” Challenge Tour the previous year, looked a real star-in-the-making.
But as his swing started letting him down his confidence dipped alarmingly and he missed no fewer than 30 halfway cuts in 2002 and 2003.
“Some stay and fight the battle and others give up. I fought the battle,” said Stenson yesterday.
Ireland’s Gary Murphy will remember the day for an albatross two on the 510-yard fourth. He sank a two-iron from 229 yards on his way to an eight under par 64 and a share of ninth place.
Meanwhile Bernhard Langer is keeping people guessing over whether he might stay on as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain.
“I’d love to do it in Ireland,” he said yesterday before adding: “I still have a tendency to let someone else do it.”
And Langer, who led Europe to their biggest-ever victory, commented: “After this tremendous success I’ve given it some second thoughts, but I’m not sure it’s the right thing to do.”
The 47-year-old German knows Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle and Colin Montgomerie are waiting in the wings, although he is encouraging Montgomerie to target at least one more appearance as a player after his contribution in Detroit.
The European tour’s tournament committee and then the Ryder Cup Board are expected to discuss the situation later this year, but no decision has to be made until just before the start of the 12-month qualifying race next September.
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