PGA notes: Hecklers don’t bother Henrik Stenson these days
Reporting from SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — They don’t let you walk about with an inflated ego in New Jersey. Just ask Henrik Stenson.
The Swedish winner of the British Open two weeks ago played a PGA Championship practice round Tuesday at Baltusrol Golf Club. On the fourth hole he left a long putt well short of the cup.
This is the man who poured in roll after roll in in shooting 63 on Sunday at Royal Troon.
From the gallery: “Does your husband play golf?”
“Shows you,” Stenson said with a grin, “you’re not up there on the pedestal very long.”
Stenson, 40, can’t be flustered these days — not after securing his first major win with a phenomenal performance that saw him capture the British Open at 20 under par.
“I want to keep on,” Stenson said. “I think golf is a game where you’re never going to be finished. You’re never going to get to the point where you’re maxed out in your ability or how you’re playing. … I got a little perfectionist in there that’s always been pushing me forward.”
It has been a hectic two weeks for Stenson. He played in a Sergio Garcia charity event in Switzerland immediately after the Open, and then went home to Sweden and massive requests for his time.
He also has already spent a lot of quality time with the Claret Jug — drinking out of it being the primary activity.
“It was champagne, and it was champagne, and it was champagne,” he said to laughter.
Among his favorite drinking partners was a Swedish veteran golf broadcaster, Goran Zachrisson.
“He was in tears, I believe, when I walked up the 18th, and he thought he’d never see the day, I guess,” Stenson said.
“I have it for a year, so there might be a few more sips.”
Olympic preview
The four men who will play for the U.S. in the Rio Olympics next month had a team meeting here Monday. Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar tried on their opening ceremony outfits and competition uniforms and got a pep talk from former Olympic speedskater Dan Jansen.
“We became little kids real fast,” Watson said.
Jansen showed them a film and shared the stories of his sacrifices to be an Olympian. He also got a little dig in at those golfers who chose to withdraw.
“You’re representing your country, like, why would you even — that’s not even a doubt,” Watson recounted Jansen saying.
Watson, who has two adopted children and no concerns about the Zika virus, said he never had a doubt he would go. “If they would have asked me to be the towel boy, I would have gone to the Olympics,” he said.
Long drive contest
It’s not the home run derby at baseball’s All-Star game. In fact, it was resurrected only a couple of years ago. But the players were keenly interested in who won the tournament’s long drive contest on Tuesday.
Drives were measured on the first hole, and for much of the day Rory McIlroy held the top spot at 345 yards. But he was overtaken by South Korean Byeong Hun An, who blasted one 347. The ball had to finish in the fairway.
“I’m a little gutted,” McIlroy said with a smile when informed that he’d lost.
Watson — one of the PGA Tour’s longest hitters — caused something of a stir in the year they brought the contest back because, for whatever reason, he refused to participate. He intentionally hit a seven-iron off the designated hole.
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