Tuesday 22 August 2017 18:52, UK
Henrik Stenson is delighted to be heading into the FexExCup Play-Offs with "momentum and confidence" following his morale-boosting win at last week's Wyndham Championship.
The Swede had been winless since making his major breakthrough in record-breaking style at The Open last year, and he arrived at Sedgefield Country Club having not recorded a top-10 finish on the PGA Tour in 2017.
But better ball-striking and an improved performance on the greens led him to victory in North Carolina, where his mental resolve was also a key factor as he reeled off four birdies in five holes late in his final round before producing a clutch par save at the last to clinch a one-shot triumph over Ollie Schneiderjans.
Stenson's sixth career PGA Tour title lifted him 52 places up the FedExCup standings to 23rd, and he now believes he can emulate his 2013 Play-Offs victory, when he won both the Deutsche Bank Championship and the season-ending Tour Championship to land a $10m bonus.
"Golf is a funny game, you never know when a win is going to come knocking on your door," said the 41-year-old ahead of The Northern Trust in New York. "I've played some fairly solid golf in the previous month. I was 11th at The Open, 17th at the Bridgestone and 13th at Quail Hollow.
"There was some good stuff in there but not enough good stuff obviously to challenge for any of those titles. And then last week, I just hit it a little bit better, my approach shots were really good and my putting was excellent. I think I was third in putting overall.
"It all came together at a perfect time. To get that win, momentum and confidence heading into the Play-Offs, we'll see if we can make a run at this. I wouldn't say I played 100 per cent in every area last week, but obviously mentally and with my putting and approach game excellent, it was good enough to get to 22 under."
Schneiderjans had piled the pressure on the Swede when he birdied three of the last four holes at Sedgefield, but Stenson followed a birdie at 13 with three in a row from the 15th before he got up and down from over the back of the final green to preserve his one-stroke advantage.
"When you're under pressure and you know you need to perform, it becomes even clearer what you need to do," Stenson added. "Still, you've got to stick to your routines and do all the kind of groundwork as you do before every shot, but I think that extra bit of pressure and adrenaline, it just makes you focus that tiny bit harder.
"You've got to enjoy being there, as well, try to hit the shots when they matter the most, and I've been able to do that over my career quite a few times. I was very happy to deliver both on Saturday, when I was kind of falling behind a little bit but I caught up on the last six or seven holes with a bunch of birdies to hold the 54-hole lead.
"And it was the same on Sunday. I saw after nine holes, I think we were four or five players tied for the lead or thereabouts. It was going to take a bunch of birdies coming home to win it, so I was just going for my shots, going for my putts. It was my day, I was in a good frame of mind, and I made them obviously."
Stenson started the 2013 FedExCup Play-Offs ranked ninth, although he was 43rd two years later and was denied another $10m payday only by the brilliance of Jordan Spieth down the stretch in Atlanta.
He added: "Billy Horschel I think was even further down when he won it. I played with him in 2014, and he was something like 80th or 90th when we started the Play-Ooffs back then. It's all about playing well in these tournaments because they weigh up four times as much as the regular season ones.
"Once you get hot and going and if you're in the mix, then you're going to make big advancements, and as long as you're top five going into Atlanta, you've got it in your own hands.
"I'm probably more excited about winning and playing well last week than exactly if I'm 20th or 29th or 32nd; that kind of all kind of takes care of itself if you get going in these four weeks. That's why I hope that this win at the Wyndham is going to carry on some momentum into these weeks.
"You can never tell but it's always a nice confidence boost, and history kind of tells you that that's been the case. Even if you don't win the first one, then if you're up there, you know, you just kind of move on. Time will tell."
