BellSouth Classic: The thing about Henrik Stenson is that he has his feet firmly on the ground, even when he is flying high, writes Philip Reid in Atlanta.
Here on the range at the TPC at Sugarloaf, in Duluth, just north of Atlanta, as he interrupts his seemingly endless practice regime for a talk, the Swede's handshake is firm and sincere. With so many points already accrued in Europe's Ryder Cup points list that he is guaranteed to make a "rookie" appearance in the competition, Stenson, now ranked 12th in the world, can pursue more personal goals, such as contending in the majors.
In Sunday's final round of the Players Championship, Stenson again showed his mettle. Faced with a difficult, 12-footer for par on the last to share third place at Sawgrass, Stenson holed it.
"I'd a pretty good idea of the line, it was a question of getting it on line," he recalled. He succeeded.
It's a mental toughness that has seen more senior players gravitate to him, maybe as possible Ryder Cup partners. Thomas Bjorn, Colin Montgomerie and others are lining up.
As a child, playing in the Ryder Cup was always one of his dreams. So was winning the British Open. Now, with his place on Ian Woosnam's team all but assured, the quest for majors is a realistic one. His progress under coach Pete Cowan and psychologist Torsten Hansson has been impressive. He tops Europe's Ryder Cup world points list.
He is second on the European Tour order of merit. He tops the US Tour's non-member earnings. Those are impressive statistics, and the suspicion is that they will get even better.
"I've made some good progress, for sure. I'm happy with the way things have progressed and I'll just try and get the game in good shape for next week. I wasn't overly happy with my ball-striking (at Sawgrass), I was struggling a bit with it. It just goes to show you what you can do with a good attitude and (by) playing smart. The key to last week was a good short game and a good head."
This week, Stenson is one of 12 European players in the field at the BellSouth Classic, along with Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell, where Phil Mickelson is the defending champion. It was always a tournament he had pencilled into his schedule.
"I just feel like it is going to be too much of a wait for a week (before Augusta). I'd rather play and try and work on the game, that's the main thing these first two weeks, although, obviously, you want to do as well as possible in any tournament."
Already a winner on the European Tour this season, in the Qatar Masters, Stenson's appearances in the US have been limited - although his power game off the tee would seem well-suited to courses here.
In fact, the BellSouth will be just his fifth appearance in the States. "New places, new courses . . . it makes it tougher for sure. It's a challenge, but an exciting one. I'll just take it one week at a time and see by the end of this year whether I want to play more (in America) or not."
Colin Montgomerie, meanwhile, has decided that a fourth missed cut in succession at the Players last week proves his game is not where he would want it to be.
His response has been to withdraw from the BellSouth, in order to spend time practising - in the States - before moving on to Augusta.
