Stenson and Appleby put Open joy, woes behind them, focus on Firestone

Jul. 29, 2008

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

AKRON, Ohio -- Ask Henrik Stenson and Stuart Appleby to reflect on their performances at the Open Championship two weeks ago, and you'll get two very different answers.

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Henrik Stenson was very pleased with his tie for third at the British Open.

Stenson's tie for third at windswept Royal Birkdale did wonders for his European Tour Ryder Cup position, moving him into the top-five automatic qualifiers off the World Points List. His first top-10 finish in a major also quieted the inquisitive Swedish press.

Appleby, on the other hand, floundered on the weekend, shooting 79 on Saturday and 75 in the final round to drop from contention into a tie for 51st. The affable Aussie said the memories were nothing "some local brew" couldn't eradicate, though.

"That was a week where really, only a handful of people remembered it as an experience that they'd behold," Appleby said. "The rest of the time ... Mother Nature was tearing us apart; made us look like real hacks.

"We knew what we were in for, but it still doesn't stop you from wondering, 'God, I'm supposed to be good at this sport -- why do I look like I have no idea?' I don't mind that stuff, but there's a line. I was, unfortunately, on the other side of the fence where it was just too hard instead of actually getting a chance to enjoy it and relish it."

Stenson and Appleby expect another tough test -- minus the whims of the capricious wind and chilly temperatures -- this week as the world's best players gather at Firestone Country Club for the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.

Appleby calls Firestone one of the "finest" courses on the PGA TOUR. He's produced six top-25 finishes at the course redesigned by the legendary Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1960, including two top 10s. And he met his wife in Akron in 2000, too.

"So (it's) a unique place on many levels, really," Appleby said. "I obviously would like to win here. That would make it even more unique."

And for Stenson? Greens that are tracking at 13 on the Stimpmeter offer a big change, considering he played a couple of rounds in the northern part of Sweden last week where the greens were rolling about 5. Even Birkdale's were relatively slow at roughly 10.

After the visit with his wife's family, Stenson arrived on Sunday to prepare for the $8 million event. He learned first-hand how fast the greens were when he hit a 20-foot putt 10 feet by one of the holes.

"(They are) really nice and smooth and quick, so it's going to be important to be on the right side and have the right pace," said Stenson, who won the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in 2007 and finished third there earlier this year. "My game feels pretty good, and (I am) looking forward to the week."

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Stuart Appleby didn't enjoy the same success Stenson had two weeks ago in England.

Appleby, who started the season with five consecutive top 10s, said Firestone is in the best condition he's ever seen it.

'It is just perfect," he said. "The greens are as quick as any course we ever play, including Augusta. It is in the best shape you could ever ask for a golf course. The rough is ... penal, but it's not too bad, and the greens are lightning fast.

"It's as quick as you'll ever see, considering we're not in Georgia with a lot of hills. I think (the greens) are definitely quicker than Augusta, and they could get drier and get faster. So it's just beautiful -- and obviously one of the true tests on TOUR, this course, especially when it plays firm."

Not surprisingly, Firestone has been one of Tiger Woods' personal playgrounds -- joining Torrey Pines in that regard. But the game's No. 1 player is home in Orlando, Fla., rehabbing that surgically repaired knee, so this week's competition is wide open.

Woods has won six times in the nine years Firestone has hosted the Bridgestone Invitational, including three straight. The other three champs are Stewart Cink, Craig Parry and Darren Clarke -- all of whom are in the field this week, along with Phil Mickelson, winner of the 1996 NEC Invitational at Firestone and a three-time runner-up.

"We've had all sorts of players do well here," Appleby said. "It's been obviously Australians, the English, one American's done pretty good. I think that you wouldn't look at a true form horse around here and say that he's going to do well. I think this is a world class course, and the players set themselves up to play well here."

Two hot players come to mind, though -- Kenny Perry, the 47-year-old who has won three times this year; and Anthony Kim, who turned 23 last month and nearly picked up his third victory of 2008 last week at the RBC Canadian Open.

"I think confidence is very, very important, and Kenny Perry is at the part of his life where he probably cares less about how he plays, and that's probably why he's playing to potential that really he never thought he had," Appleby said. "He probably had it 10 years ago but probably still has it today.

"Anthony Kim is just the opposite. He knows what he's got going on. He's young and naïve enough and positive enough that that's what he defines his life by, by golf, and that's all he needs to think about. So they're two opposites but both very, very functional."

And if form follows function, both Perry and Kim will be near the top of the leaderboard on Sunday.

Appleby and Stenson, of course, wouldn't mind being there, too.

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