There will be no Henrik Stenson appearances on a Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway tour, for the time being at least. Confirmation he will captain Europe in the 2023 Ryder Cup came with assurances from the 2016 Open champion he will not play a part in the ongoing golf disruption scheme.
“There’s been a lot of speculations back and forth,” Stenson said. “I am fully committed to the captaincy and to Ryder Cup Europe and the job at hand. So we’re going to keep busy with that and I’m going to do everything in my power to deliver a winning team in Rome.
“The captain signs a contract. He’s the only one that does. Players and vice-captains don’t. But the captain has an agreement and those agreements are between Ryder Cup Europe and the captain, so I’m fully committed to my role as a captain and working hard towards the result we want in Rome.” The subplot, of course, is that when Stenson’s tenure is over he is not bound by any such terms. But for now, the DP World Tour has held on to its man.
Stenson, who beat Luke Donald to the post, becomes the second Scandinavian to captain Europe – after Thomas Bjørn – and the first Swede. Europe will bid to reclaim the trophy in Rome, after comprehensive defeat to the United States in Wisconsin last September.
“We’re up for a challenge,” Stenson said. “I know my players are going to be up for a challenge. We saw a very strong American team at Whistling Straits. But we also saw that coming into Paris [at the 2018 Ryder Cup]. Yeah, we got beaten last time around but we also managed to beat the strong opponent in the past.”
Guy Kinnings, Europe’s Ryder Cup director, offered Stenson the role at Sawgrass last Friday. “As we know, Mr Stenson also has a finely tuned, dry sense of humour, and we will be looking forward to the unique style he’s going to bring to the role as he puts his own stamp on it,” Kinnings said. “But we should also remember he’s a ferocious competitor.”
Despite receiving a series of public relations blows recently, it is believed the Saudi plan – fronted by Greg Norman – continues apace. There is an expectation that a set of hugely lucrative tournaments, including in the United States, will be announced imminently. Should that transpire, there is scope for high-profile legal challenge to the PGA Tour’s position that any player signing up with Norman can be banned from their circuit.
