July 13, 2017: Henrik Stenson tees it up at this week’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open just five miles from the scene of his greatest triumph as he prepares to hand back the Claret Jug.
Dundonald Links is the stunning setting for the fourth Rolex Series event of the season but Stenson will forever be remembered for his Open Championship triumph just down the coast at Royal Troon.
The Swede won his first Major Championship in record-breaking style after a dramatic final-day battle with Phil Mickelson and will have to return the famous old trophy on Monday as the golfing world prepares for the 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale.
Stenson has dealt admirably with all the trappings that come with being a Major champion in the last year but he admits he is now ready to start looking forward rather than back to that remarkable Sunday afternoon.
“It’s kind of like before and after having kids,” he said. “When you have kids, your life changes and you can’t believe what you did with all the time you had before.
“I think it’s going to be a bit of turning the page next week when I have to return the Claret on Monday and then we’re kind of looking ahead instead of looking back” – Henrik Stenson
“It’s a little bit the same. I don’t know what I did with my time before I had the Claret Jug in my possession and I kind of treat it like my baby as well so it’s a lot of similarities in that sense. It’s been a busy year but I don’t want to sit here and complain about it. That’s certainly not the way we look at it.
“It’s been a challenge at times. I’ve been pretty good at saying no but you’ve still got to do a lot of things and I’m sure that impacts your focus on your game to a degree.
“And for the year that you are the defending champion, every week you show up at a tournament it’s new, it’s fresh, they haven’t seen you since you won and it’s all the pictures and all the autographs and all the interviews.
“In this game, you’ve got to be in the moment and you’ve got to be focused on where you’re at now and looking forward and you’re constantly talking about what happened six months, nine months, 12 months ago. So it’s easy to be a little stuck in the past.
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