Henrik Stenson is one of the best golfers to ever come out of Sweden and one of the most consistent players on tour. Although he has yet to win a major, he finished second at The Open Championship in 2013, third on two occasions at the PGA Championship and fourth at the U.S. Open.
After defending his title at the DP World Tour Championship ahead of Rory McIlroy in November this year, Stenson has high hopes for 2015.
Here’s 10 things you might not know about the man from Gothenburg.
1 – His first job was delivering newspapers in Gothenburg, Sweden.
2 – None of his family came from a golfing background. He became hooked when a friend took him to the driving range at a young age. Stenson’s father eventually took up the sport because he was tired of waiting for his son in the parking lot.
3- He was ranked No. 73 in the world by October 2001 but less than two years later he had plummeted to No. 621. Stenson fought back rising to No. 4 in 2009 and peaking at No. 2 this year.
4- He was a natural at golf. Stenson had his first round of golf at the age of 12. Three years later, he was playing off a five handicap.
5- He’s a record breaker. When Stenson reached No. 5 in the world, he became the highest ranked Swede ever, beating Jesper Parnevik’s record.
[frame_center src=”https://www.yourgolftravel.com/19th-hole/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/henrik-stenson-6×4.jpg” width=”600″ height=”400″]Henrik Stenson[/frame_center]6- In 2006, on his cup debut, he had the honour of holing the winning putt to ensure Europe had beaten USA for a third consecutive time.
7- He’s one of golf’s richest players. According to therichest.com, Stenson has a net worth estimated to be around £18 million.
8- In 2009, he caused a media frenzy by stripping to his underwear and golf glove to play a shot from a muddy water hazard.
9- His favourite course is TPC Sawgrass in Florida.
10- He’ll be riding Stalin in the winter months. When the golf season is over, Stenson and his family head to the slopes to ski. He owns a snowmobile that they call Stalin and keeps it at his cabin in Tarnaby, Sweden.
