Henrik Stenson Knows How to Comeback

For those of you who need a reminder about just how hard golf can be take look at Henrik Stenson. Going into the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship the pride of Sweden is seven hosts back of leader J.B. Holmes. It’s a lot of shots to make up but that’s nothing considering what he’s been through. For the thirty-eight year old there’s been the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It’s his ability to fight his way back that is one of the greatest comeback stories of all times.

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There comes a time in every athlete’s career when the game is just too much for them. Usually it’s age or an injury that spells the end, but in golf sometimes the game just wins. There are countless examples of the game just leaving a player, for no reason at all. It’s happened to Stenson, not once but twice.

You ever wonder why they call him “The Ice Man?” It’s not because of that steely sun glasses covered look he walks around with, it’s because the guy can’t be broken. In the summer of 2001 just two months removed from winning on the European Tour he just lost it. Something was seriously wrong, as a fairway was tougher to find than a needle in a haystack.

Stenson’s catastrophic and dramatic fall from grace would have been strong enough to break anyone. Just imagine if at your job you all of sudden couldn’t do the most basic of tasks. You would try and try and no matter what you just couldn’t do it. After a while maybe you’d just give up and try to find something new, Stenson never quit.

"“I kept on fighting,” he says. “That sort of thing makes you stronger eventually. I was still struggling in 2003. It wasn’t until September that I could feel a difference. For the first time in two years I felt like I could play and compete on tour.” (Credit ESPN.com)"

The pressure in championship golf can be immense, and we take for granted the players who can handle it. Unlike other sports everything is on that one person. Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen to help him through a bad game. If Alex Rodriguez struck out with a runner on third in the 8^th inning, Derek Jeter was there to bail him out. There’s always someone to pick you up, but in golf it’s all on you. There’s no one there to hit your iron shots when your approach shots are a little off or make crucial putts for you. The game is about the highest of self confidence and lowest of self doubt. Stenson has experienced both.

After years of personal hell, self evaluation, and steady improvement Stenson found his golf game again. He won the Match Play Championship in 2006 and was ranked number five in the world. The guy who couldn’t hit a driver anywhere near a fairway was back, and he was winning again. Then of course disaster struck again, and that’s the way golf is. Just when you think you’ve figured it out the game just jumps up and bites you, just for Stenson maybe it couldn’t happen again.

In 2011-2012 the flaws in Stenson’s game overwhelmed him once again as he dipped to as far as 230^th in the world as he was in danger of fading away to oblivion once again. He was down but he wasn’t out and he roared back to not only win but also win big. Just a year later he won the FedEx Cup and the Race to Dubai. They may not have been major championships but those two accomplishments are nothing to gloss over.

The likelihood of Stenson chasing down Holmes today is slim. J.B. has led since round one and has never really gave indication that this wasn’t his tournament to win. Stenson and the rest of the field will most likely be walking off the course looking to evaluate what wrong and how to improve. If there’s anyone who knows how to self evaluate and comeback stronger than ever, it’s Stenson. If he comes up short today, watch out world it could mean that big things are on the way.

Next: J.B. Holmes Leads after 54 Holes at Doral

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