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Stenson looks to end super year on a high

It has been a great year for Henrik Stenson. He got his first Major. He got an Olympic medal and he could add to that by winning a second DP World Tour Championship and that could make it a standout year for him.

The 40-year-old Stenson, who will close the year with an appearance in Tiger Wood’s Hero World Challenge early next month before bringing down the shutter on a super year, even though he admits the knees are getting dodgy.

He began the year with a series of Top-10s, but the win came only at the BMW International Open and it was his first European Tour title 2014, when he won at Jumeirah Golf Estates in 2014.

Three weeks later he fired a closing 63 at Royal Troon to beat Phil Mickelson in one of the greatest battles to win The Open Championship and his first Major. There was further glory in the form of a silver medal at the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition.

He hit the top of the Race to Dubai rankings with a tie for second at the WGC-HSBC Champions last month and a third win of the season at DP World Tour Championship will see him being crowned Europe’s Number One for the second time. The only way he gets left out will be if Danny Willett wins this week.

“It was going to be a big year,” he said. “We had the Olympics, Ryder Cup, the Majors - as always - and my mindset was I wanted to play well at those ones, and a lot of times over my career when I really put my mind to something, I managed to achieve it.

“That was a big goal of mine to try to be ready when we hit the summer because it was going to be a busy one and not much time for practice and breaks. Just doing some good practice in the springtime and being ready for when the summer came and I had that important win at the BMW International in Cologne.

“That was a key moment for me. I had not won for a while and to get that one over the finish line, it felt like winning again was out of the window and I just pressed on from there.

“It would be one of my finest achievements. It was pretty sweet to be here as Europe’s Number One in 2013 and I don’t think it would be any less sweet being here as Europe’s Number One in 2016 with the season that I’ve had and winning The Open and some other fine performances throughout the year.

“I’m certainly keen. I’m going to give it my best. We all have a long season behind us, this is the final stretch, four rounds of golf. Whether I play great or good or average or whatever it might be, I’m going to try my hardest for four days, and that’s all I can do and we’ll see where it takes us.”

A win would seal the deal for Stenson and while Willett, Alex Noren and Rory McIlroy all have a chance of claiming the Harry Vardon trophy this week, he knows he is in position A.
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