Henrik Stenson is champing at the bit to get his 2020 season underway as he returns to his ‘home away from home’ for this week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
The towering Swede lived in the emirate for almost a decade until 2012 and was a champion at the 2007 Desert Classic so it’s fair to say that he’s comfortable around the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club.
“I made Dubai my home for ten years and it’s great to be back and be in a very familiar environment,” he said. “I know a lot of people here and, obviously, I know the golf course very well. I’ve played it probably as much as any golf course that we play on Tour and it’s possibly one of the ones I’ve played the most out of all the golf courses in the world.
“I think at this stage, I know where to be and not to be, and it’s a question if I can hit it where I want to be and not the other way around.
“With all of the great facilities, weather, food, hotels, everything, it’s an enjoyable week to start out the year it’s great to be back.”
Stenson was without a win since his Wyndham Championship victory on the PGA Tour in August 2017, but he ended last year on a high with victory in the Hero World Challenge in December and he’s keen regain the momentum when he gets his season underway this week.
“I think as anyone knows, when you win a tournament, it’s probably better to keep on going,” said the two-time Race to Dubai winner. “It possibly would have been better to have the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic in mid-December but I’ve had a nice break and we’re just trying to kind of pick up where we left off.”
Who claimed Stenson struggles with a driver?
Here he is blasting the new Callaway MAVRIK this morning at @EmiratesGC #Callaway #MAVRIK #ODDC @OMEGAGolfDubai pic.twitter.com/5xNFqbp7MR
— Worldwide Golf (@WorldwideGolf) January 22, 2020
At 43, Stenson is now one of the veteran’s on Tour but, as Lee Westwood proved in Abu Dhabi last week, he believes there is still plenty of life left in the ‘old dogs’.
“I think it’s good for the older players to win,” he said. “The golf course doesn’t know if you’re 20, 30 or 40 when you’re teeing it up, right? It’s all about bringing as good of a game as you can do, and we know experience is a good part in this game to have played it in different conditions over the years and different courses.
“At times, we can’t really compete with the longest players in the game but we can compete with other factors and, of course, that’s something we try to do as good as we can and yeah, we certainly keep the dreams alive of winning golf tournaments.”
