Defending champ likes the risk-reward nature of TPC Sawgrass

Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Henrik Stenson's victory in the THE PLAYERS in 2009 marked the fourth time in five years an American didn't prevail at TPC Sawgrass.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Henrik Stenson doesn't remember the score of the first round of golf he ever played.

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"No idea why," he mused with a smile and a shrug of his shoulders. "But I'm sure it wasn't too pretty."

The last round Stenson shot at TPC Sawgrass, though, was nothing short of brilliant as he closed with 66 that saw him hit all but one fairway on the way to a four-stroke victory st the 2009 PLAYERS Championship.

Stenson started the final round of the PGA TOUR's showcase event tied for second, trailing Alex Cejka by five strokes. But the Swede was relentless in his pursuit, pulling into a tie with a birdie on the ninth hole, then making birdie on four of his next six holes to win going away.

The victory was Stenson's third top-10 in just four starts at THE PLAYERS Championship. He's at a bit of a loss to explain his affinity for Pete Dye's signature creation but Stenson is one of those players who tends to rise to the occasion -- and the Stadium Course is one of the game's most challenging courses.

"I played the first year in '06, and I just loved the course," said Stenson, who remembers staying up late on ski vacations when he was a kid and watching THE PLAYERS Championship unfold.

"It was a course that I was really keen to play, and I like the risk and reward. It's there. If you hit the good shots, you get paid for it, and if you don't, you're going to struggle. It's a fair golf course, I think, and I really like it, and I've done well over the four years. ...

"So a great record, and obviously a great achievement and something I'm really proud of to have my name on that champions circle and get my own locker and all the rest of it."

Stenson's spot in the plush winner's locker room upstairs in the massive Mediterranean-style clubhouse is secure. But truth be told, he doesn't exactly return to defend his title this week playing his best golf.

The 2010 season has been one of stops and starts for Stenson -- but with good reason. He and his wife, Emma, an American whom he met while she was playing golf at the University of South Carolina, had their second child, a son named Karl, in March.

In 10 rounds on the PGA TOUR this year, Stenson has only shot in the 60s once. He hasn't finished higher than 37th in three stroke-play events on TOUR this year and he missed the cut in the Masters by nine shots.

There have been signs of life on the European Tour, though, where Stenson tied for eighth at the Volvo China Open and 22nd at the Ballentine's Championship in his last two starts. He's hoping the return to TPC Sawgrass will be a confidence-builder, as well.

Stenson actually was a soccer player when he was growing up. When he was 11 or 12, though, he went to the golf course with a friend and hit a few 5-irons. He was hooked. Stenson immediately came home and asked for some clubs.

"My parents probably thought I was going to get it over and done with in a couple of weeks but I came back and asked for more bags and clubs and balls and on it went," he recalled.

"(I just loved) smacking away, getting a good hit and the feeling ever hitting a pure strike. So luckily I'll probably hit a few clean ones in the beginning rather than hitting some bad ones. I might not have come back otherwise."

Within five years, Stenson was playing to a scratch handicap and soccer was a thing of the past. "I was putting all my attention and focus on the game -- just always believing I was going to make it, I guess," he said.

Stenson remembers watching that hard-fought draw in the Ryder Cup in 1989, as well as the Masters and Open Championships. Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros were in their prime back then, so it's small wonder he idolized the two -- even though their approaches to the game differed so dramatically.

"I've been trying to get Faldo's accuracy and Seve's short game," Stenson said, acknowledging the diacotomy. "I think you have a pretty good combination then."

Stenson may have a single-minded focus behind those wrap-around shades on the golf course, but when he's not playing, he has a quick wit and an easy-going demeanor. And he'll always be remembered for stripping to his skivvies to play a shot from the water at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship last year.

"Yeah, that turned into a much bigger thing than I would ever imagine," Stenson said. "That picture traveled the world in seconds and made some headlines all over the place."

The Swede admits to having a few photos of the incident at home, but he'd like to get the full strip -- pun intended -- to frame and put on the wall.

"It's funny when you see how out of focus (his caddy) Fanny (Sunesson) is and she doesn't even realize, and I'm standing there in my boxing shorts," Stenson said, chuckling. "That's dedication for you."

With five wins on the European Tour and two here in the United States, Stenson is pleased with the progress of his career to date. He ranked fifth in the world after he won THE PLAYERS and currently holds down the No. 18 spot.

Stenson is bidding to make his third Ryder Cup this year, too. Missing, though, is a major -- although he's got four top-10s and six top-20s in his last nine starts in the game's crown jewels.

"It would be great to be the first Swedish player to win a major and it would mean a lot for golf in Sweden, I think, and for me personally, as well," Stenson said.