THE 154TH OPEN

July 16, 2026

Henrik Stenson

Mixed Zone

HENRIK STENSON: Good morning. At least it's still morning for another second or two.

Q. Great round. Were you expecting that?

HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, well -- yeah, game feels all right. It feels okay. There was really only one blemish on the card, a bit of a soft and stupid double bogey on 11 with a gap wedge in my hand that normally doesn't feel too good.

Other than that, it was pretty good. Hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens, which is kind of what the doctor ordered. I think with the benign conditions, they tuck the pins quite close to the edges on a lot of holes.

Left myself a couple early on I wasn't really close, but then I had some chances, didn't really get them. Happy with 1-under at the turn. And then had a pretty vicious putt on 10 and followed that up with a wedge and a four-putt from like a funky position off the fringe on 11.

We kept on grinding. Like sometimes happens when you keep patient and keep on grinding, I got some rewards towards the end and finished with three birdies in the last four holes. Pleased with that.

Q. What were the expectations coming in?

HENRIK STENSON: I played pretty good tee-to-green and did fairly well at the U.S. Seniors. Obviously this is my fourth event in pretty much a year, near enough, 10 1/2, 11 months, I think. So expectations are a little lower.

At the same, I played and practiced some and kind of kept it going over the summer without killing myself on the range and practice areas.

But when you're starting to get back into the mode of getting close to competition, I think your mind kind of switches a little bit. You're thinking more about golf, and I feel like having time and not being like pressured that you've got to play next week and do this and that, you kind of figure some things out.

Yeah, I just kind of one day at a time. I just want to get into the process of doing the right things. Then hopefully by fall, I'll be in decent shape. As we know with this game, you can turn around fairly quick if you get the things in order.

Yeah, I'm not putting any pressure on myself to do that. I just take it as it comes. Clearly, this is a style of golf and a tournament that I'm fairly familiar with. Happy to have a good start.

Q. Could you have played some on the DP World Tour if you wanted, or did you choose not to?

HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, I've just chosen to -- I turned 50, as you know, early April, played the Senior PGA in Florida and then the European Legends event the week after. So that was kind of getting back into it a little bit.

I wanted to be in Sweden in the summer. I went back with my son who plays competitive, so I was golf dad a few weeks there with him. Just the way it panned out, it wasn't like it was a stress to get into it.

I felt like U.S. Senior was a good starting point, playing here this week, playing Gleneagles. Might play something on DP World Tour in August, and then from end of August, I'm playing some Champions events and some bits and pieces on the back end of the schedule.

So I'll probably get to 13, 14 tournaments when it's all said and done at this point.

Q. It's basically all in America after August? On the Champions Tour?

HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, could be something in Europe, and there will be one in Asia as well. Even if you're playing a little bit less of a schedule, you've still got to work on those air miles and make sure you're keeping gold status somewhere.

Q. When you said benign conditions, what do you mean? Is it slower than you thought it might be?

HENRIK STENSON: No, just with the wind. It's perfect weather. The sun's out if you haven't -- you guys stay in this tent all week?

Q. We appreciate the report.

HENRIK STENSON: No, just like with such a light wind, it was probably -- you know, you can argue around a club at the most, kind of, yeah, seven, eight, ten yards maybe at times.

Now I think it's kind of slowed down almost around the turn a little bit. We'll see if it picks up a little bit in the afternoon, but I expect it to be -- but like I said, I think the pin positions on a lot of holes is kind of working. Otherwise, you would easily see a 6-, 7-under par in, and we may still do that.

I think the pin position on quite a few holes is tucked. So they're not really inviting. With some of the changes and some of the run-offs, if you miss it on the wrong spot, it can cost you. So I think a lot of guys is going to try and give yourself those 10, 15, 20-footers instead of challenging too much on a few.

Q. All week we've heard about how baked out it is. Today is it still the same thing? Like the ball's really rolling?

HENRIK STENSON: We played -- I mean, we were fourth off, so early. There's definitely a little bit of moisture in the grass. I guess overnight as well, I don't know if they put any water on it, but just the dew will kind of make it a little bit more so.

At 7:08 when we teed off, you're not going to hit it as far as we did at 2:00 on Tuesday afternoon. There were some ridiculous numbers being -- I hit a 3-iron over 300 yards on 11 in practice. I mean, downwind, baked, you're standing up there, you get a couple of good bounces, it goes a long ways. You're not hitting that -- even in the same conditions, you're not hitting that at 7:00 in the morning.

So the course is playing a little bit longer in the beginning, but now from 10:00, 11:00 onwards, I'm pretty sure it will get closer to what it was. It felt like it didn't quite bounce on me as much as the other day, but we've got less wind as well.

Q. Can I ask you about the 6? I know you've heard it, there's been some big numbers made there. What's the challenges with it?

HENRIK STENSON: On the 6th? It's a tough hole. It's long. I hit a good 3-wood myself, and that left me a 4-iron. Depending on what you choose to do off the tee, I think I tried a 2-iron in practice, I didn't hit it good, but that definitely left me too far back. So you want to get it up there.

Even with I imagine I got 280, 290 yards out of that 3-wood at least, but it's still a 4-iron. Second shot, and I hit it to about 12, 15 feet. I did well on that one, but it's a whole you need to get the ball in play and then kind of long iron or mid-iron into the middle of the green. Obviously some guys here hit it a lot further than I do, but I would still imagine a 5- or 6-iron being hit for second shots.

If you miss in those bunkers right, in the rough right, you're kind of behind the eight ball a little bit. It's more what do you do? Do you just get it back in play and leave yourself a wedge, or do you try to go from there? That's normally if you wrap it or get a flier or something, that's kind of where the circus starts sometimes. Yeah, it's a difficult hole.

Q. Does it seem like ten years on since your win?

HENRIK STENSON: 9 1/2 at the most (laughter).

It's both. I mean, time flies, as we know, waits for no one. Sometimes it feels like it was -- it certainly was a decade ago. With other things, yeah, you feel like maybe it was a little more recent. At least when you hit a 5-iron to six feet to make it on the last, you probably feel like it wasn't that long ago.

Q. Where are you in the championship situation?

HENRIK STENSON: I'm a rookie.

Q. You are a rookie?

HENRIK STENSON: Yeah.

Q. Can you play?

HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, so from end of August, they removed my ankle bracelet, and I'll be out of that one-year probation. I think from -- I played the last LIV event 24th of August last year. So I'm kind of reinstated as a member, and I'm free to play PGA TOUR sanctioned tournaments from the 25th of August this year.

Q. And will you try to play a full schedule?

HENRIK STENSON: Full schedule, I don't know. I will play five, six, seven here on the back end. I guess if I play well, I have a chance to maybe make it into the playoffs there as well depending, and then we'll see.

This is kind of a hybrid year. I started late. I'll play late. Play all the way into December and then kind of make a plan, see how I feel. After that fall, when do I want to kick on next year?

I'll definitely play some golf next year, all things being well, but I feel like I might give myself a window, say 15th of February until the 15th of October, that's when I play my golf. I certainly enjoy having an off-season.

I think it's good for me, and at this stage of my life and my career, I want to have some time at home as well. I can see myself kind of finding that window what suits me, and I'll play hopefully some good golf and good tournaments within that.

Q. Do you think if you hadn't had this time off, you would have had that type of time to reflect and actually done what you're doing?

HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, I needed a break. I feel like I was pretty worn out both physically and mentally. I've done this for 28 years now, playing two Tours, one season kind of tagging onto the next. Being in season -- not playing every week, as you know, but being in season for near 10 1/2 months throughout the year, and I guess it gets to a point where the body says how about a little break?

I had some more breaks the last couple of years, but it was also a lot on my plate there for a while. It's been good. It's been the longest break I've had during all those years. I think it definitely gives me the opportunity to come back out and be a little bit more motivated and hungry to go again on these last couple of holes of my career.

Q. In these conditions, like in your own golf course design work, do you get a great appreciation for like the turf management, like the type of work the greens staff has to do on weeks like this and in context of your own golf courses?

HENRIK STENSON: Obviously it's a very big team, and they do a great job presenting these golf courses that we play at all the big championships and in great conditions. Yeah, every credit to them, and a big thanks from all the players and fans.

I know the hours. Yeah, this time of the year, it's daylight a lot, but they're up early and they work late. Yeah, every credit to them. Yeah, the course is in great shape.

Q. How is the West Course coming along?

HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, it's progressing. I know the membership, they're anxious to come out and play, but it will have to wait until next spring. It will open next spring.

Q. Has that been like an education for you at this stage of your career to get into that sort of thing?

HENRIK STENSON: We've done it for a while, but yeah, definitely. I played some of the great golf courses. I played some of the not so great golf courses. Over the years you find what you like, and then I try and implement that into the golf course design.

Yeah, it's not something -- I'm not doing five or ten courses a year. I'm kind of choosing carefully, and we have a few projects in the pipeline. It's not something -- I'm still focusing on golf, but it's still something I enjoy doing. We try and get our hands wet there as well.

Q. Where's your hat from?

HENRIK STENSON: This one is from Crownwood. That's our golf course in the south of Sweden.

Q. Did you do that?

HENRIK STENSON: Yes, I'm co-owner and co-designer at that one, yeah.

Q. What about your house?

HENRIK STENSON: My house is in Orlando, Florida. I'd prefer if you don't come visit (laughter).