Henrik Stenson arrived at Jumeirah Golf Estates with the opportunity to create history, and he leaves Dubai having become a history maker. After a brilliant final round of 64, the 37-year-old Swede won the DP World Tour Championship by a commanding six shots to claim the European Tour’s Race to Dubai.
It has been an astonishing resurgence from a player who less than two years ago was ranked 230th in the World. This year, Stenson has risen from the depths of the game, not for the first time, and has set an unassailable standard for players on both sides of the Atlantic, having become the first player to win the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai in the same season.
Just like in September at the Tour Championship, Stenson arrived at the tournament knowing that victory would guarantee that he would claim the lucrative overall prize. With Ian Poulter in hot pursuit, the Swede produced a flawless eight-under round of 64 to pull clear, with a tap-in eagle on the closing hole a fitting end to what has been an incredible year from the likeable Lake Nona resident.
Starting at the Scottish Open in July, Stenson’s surge through the rankings has been meteoric, with his worldwide finishes since setting a standard that none could match. He would finish second in the Open Championship to Phil Mickelson, and 3rd at the PGA Championship, before lifting the FedEx Cup after victories at the Deutsche Bank and Tour Championship. After that, Stenson, despite nursing a troublesome wrist injury, would face the challenge of the European Tour’s inaugural Final Series. With a tie for seventh last week in Turkey, Stenson established himself at the summit of the Race to Dubai, but he ultimately knew that a closing victory in Dubai would be required if he were to claim the Harry Vardon trophy.
Ian Poulter’s admirable battle against Stenson ultimately came up just a little bit short, with the Englishman finishing six shots back of the Swede in second. Last week’s winner Victor Dubuisson finished in third, to culminate what has been a breakthrough fortnight for the Frenchman, with a trio of former world number ones – Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood - in a tie for fifth.
“It has been an incredible summer for me, the fall in America was great and now this,” said Stenson who reflected on his remarkable year. “It has been a dream season.
“I played so well this week. I knew the guys would try to catch me, especially Ian who never gives up. I wanted to stay ahead of him and I managed to do that.
”I don't know how I am going to be able to top this next year but I am going to give my best in the Majors and that would be the icing on the cake.”
Poulter, who will now have to serve as Stenson’s waiter for an evening after losing a bet with the Swede, was the first to congratulate the winner afterwards, after evoking memories of Fuzzy Zoeller by waving a white towel in surrender on the 18th. However, the Englishman is still proud of his efforts.
“I have to take my hat off to him, unbelievable. I tried to run him down as hard as I could but even with a sore wrist he has pressed on and I just could not get close enough.
”Henrik has not made a mistake all week and I just had to make sure of second place and some valuable Ryder Cup points. I have thrown a lot at him and given him so much stick, but he is the best player on the planet right now.”
Other players hailed Stenson’s achievement, with Rory McIlroy stating that simply: “Henrik is playing too good for everyone it looks like right now.”
Lee Westwood would have the same sentiments, when describing Stenson’s stunning run of results in the bigger events in the game. “He's been there or thereabouts every week, and in the biggest tournaments,” said the inaugural Race to Dubai champion in 2009. “That's how golf is when you get on a run.”
It’s been a sustained run of form, dating back to the middle of the summer. That makes Stenson’s achievements all that more impressive, with the consistency of his game being unmatched by anyone else. Luke Donald, who won the Race to Dubai in 2011, certainly believes that to be the case. “I don't think there's been a better player in golf the last six months, and Henrik looks in total control. He's missed one green the first three days. He's making golf look easy, and believe me, it's not that easy. Hats off to him and he deserves everything he's getting.”
It’s been a long battle for Stenson, after overcoming health problems and losing millions to the now incarcerated Allen Stanford’s fraudulent Ponzi scheme. The Swede’s resurgence this year is an illustration of an inner resilience and mental toughness that has to be admired.
However, it has come at a cost, and he now looks forward to resting that troublesome wrist ahead of next year.
“I am in desperate need of some rest,” he admitted. “I don't want to jeopardise anything long term so I'm going to give it some rest.”
But what next for Stenson when he returns? After making history, it is difficult to set the goals and objectives even higher, but he is planning on doing so, with a return to the Ryder Cup now all-but guaranteed next year.
Stenson, now ranked third in the World, wants to go even higher. “It's going to take a lot more good golf but I am certainly going to keep on trying,” he added.
”Everyone who has won the Race to Dubai has been World Number One at some point (Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Donald and McIlroy) so it would not be fair not to try.”
After this achievement, as the golfing world marvels at his feat, you wouldn’t confidently bet against him doing it.