BMW International Open top 10 power rankings

BMW International Open defending champion Henrik Stenson is one of the heavy lifters in the field. He’s the 2016 Open champion and the 2016 Olympic silver medalist (behind Justin Rose) and twice the Race to Dubai champion for starters. With his 11 European Tour victories, Stenson is at home wherever he tees it up and when he’s in the field, he’s going to be a threat.

That said, Stenson’s early 2017 season performance has been stronger than his late spring-early summer performance at European Tour events. He finished in solo eighth at Abu Dhabi and runner-up at the Dubai Desert Classic, but then tumbled down the board for a uncharacteristically low finish at the WGC-Mexico Championship. That lackluster performance continued at The Masters and again last week at the U..S. Open, where he missed the cut. (But then, there may be a certain cachet in missing the U.S. Open cut this year – he was in very good company.)

Still, Henrik Stenson in one of the most skilled tacticians on the European Tour. He’s thoughtful and precise in his shotmaking, ranking 7th on the Tour in driving accuracy and 15th in GIR. His flatstick hasn’t been particularly hot – he’s averaging 29.7 putts per round, which probably explains his up-and-down the board finishes this year.

If he’s not jet lagging and completely worn out from his two rounds at Erin Hills, I’m looking for Stenson to make a run at the top of the leaderboard this week. He’ll have to face down some stiff competition to get there, however.