Career
Stenson was born in Gothenburg. He turned professional in 1999 and the following year topped the money rankings on the second tier golf tour in Europe, the Challenge Tour. He joined the main European Tour in 2001 and has won seven European Tour events. From 2005 to 2008 he finished each year in the top 10 of the European Order of Merit.
Stenson reached the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings in 2006 and the top 10 in 2007. In February 2007, he reached number eight in the rankings following his victory at the Dubai Desert Classic and became the highest ranked European golfer for the first time.
The following week, Stenson then became the first Swede to win one of the World Golf Championships when beating Geoff Ogilvy 2&1 in the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. This victory took Stenson to the top of the European Order of Merit and also to a high of 5th in the world rankings, which is also the highest a Swedish player has ever been ranked, surpassing Jesper Parnevik's previous record of reaching seventh place in May 2000. In all, he spent over 90 weeks in the top 10 of the rankings since 2007.
These two victories put Stenson in the lead of the 2007 European Tour Order of Merit, but he failed to add to his success over the rest of the season and finished in fourth place.
Stenson made his Ryder Cup debut in 2006, and after getting a half point in the foursomes against Stewart Cink and David Toms on the Friday, he had the honour of holing the winning putt and ensuring Europe won the Ryder Cup for a third consecutive time when beating Vaughn Taylor 4 & 3 in the Sunday singles. He played again in 2008 at Valhalla, tallying a win, a loss and a draw in the foursomes. However he was not as fortunate as two years before, losing the singles on Sunday 3 & 2 to an inspired Kenny Perry.
Stenson married fellow Swede Emma Löfgren in Dubai ten years after meeting her on a golf course in Sweden. On 2 July 2007, his wife gave birth to the couple's daughter, Lisa.
His name was famously mispronounced during the Friday foursomes during the 2008 Ryder Cup. The announcer stuttered, calling him Henrik Stevenson and then Henrik Stevens. He corrected his mistake later on.
In March 2009 Stenson created a storm in the media after stripping to his underwear and golf glove in order to play a recovery shot from a muddy water hazard at the first round of the WGC-CA Championship.
On 10 May 2009, Stenson won The Players Championship with a dominating final round score of 66 to finish four ahead of Ian Poulter. The win was his first American stroke play victory. This win again brought him to fifth in the Official World Golf Rankings. The following week he moved up to fourth without playing.
On 5 April 2012, Stenson led during the first round of the Masters Tournament with two eagles on the front nine to lead at 6-under-par until the 18th hole. He scored a quadruple-bogey on the par-4 18th hole, tying the Masters' record for the highest score ever on that hole.
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“From a hasty glance through the various tests I figure it out that I would be classified in Group B, indicating “Low Average Ability,” reserved usually for those just learning to speak the English Language and preparing for a career of holding a spike while another man hits it.”
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“It is a great many years since at the outset of my career I had to think seriously what life had to offer that was worth having. I came to the conclusion that the chief good for me was freedom to learn, think, and say what I pleased, when I pleased. I have acted on that conviction... and though strongly, and perhaps wisely, warned that I should probably come to grief, I am entirely satisfied with the results of the line of action I have adopted.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)