September 23, 2013. Henrik Stenson carded 2-under 68 to seal his authority over second playoff in the final round of the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola at East Lake Golf Club. After registering his record twin win, Swede looked thrilled holding Tour Championship ship in one hand and FedEX Cup in the other.
“Since the Scottish Open, it’s been just an incredible run,” he said. “I’m speechless. It was a tough day out there. To hang in there the way I did, I’m really satisfied. … It hasn’t quite sunk in yet. I had to fight hard mentally to keep all this aside, and I managed to do that. It’s going to feel better as the week goes on. I’m pretty sure about that.”
His triumph trail began with a tie for third in the Scottish Open. Stenson followed with a runner-up at the British Open and the World Golf Championships-Bridgeston Invitational, third place at the PGA Championship and a win at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
[highlight]It shows that I never give up, This is way beyond what I could have imagined, said Stenson [/highlight]
Stenson, who finished at 13-under 267, became the first European to win the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup. He walked away with $11.44 million — $10 million for the FedExCup ($9 million of that in cash) and $1.44 million for winning the TOUR Championship.
Stenson has struggled through high and lows of life, the win on Sunday too didn’t come easy for him. With a birdie to thwart a late charge by Jordan Spieth, followed by three pars from the sand, the 37-year-old Swede closed with a 2-under 68 on Sunday for a three-shot victory at East Lake. Speith ended NO. 7 on FedEx Ranking.
“It shows that I never give up,” said Stenson, who also moves to No. 4 in the world. “This is way beyond what I could have imagined.”
Stenson is now the first player to win the TOUR Championship wire-to-wire with no ties since Tom Watson in 1987, the first year of this 30-man showcase.
Tired Tiger Woods never recovered from his 73-71 start. He closed with a 67 to tie for 22nd, his worst finish ever at East Lake, and wound up second in the FedExCup. That still was worth a $3 million bonus.
Stenson, who only last week smashed a driver and his locker at the BMW Championship out of frustration, finally gets a break. He was headed to his home in Orlando, Fla., for a four-week break before returning in Shanghai.
Source: PGA Tour
