Henrik Stenson is back at the Open 10 years on from his famous win, but he’s planning beyond this week at Royal Birkdale…
Not long after rolling back the years at a burned out Royal Birkdale, Henrik Stenson shared a joke with reporters as he cooled down in the mixed zone.
“From end of August, they removed my ankle bracelet, and I’ll be out of that one-year probation,” he smiled.
‘They’ means the PGA Tour and that probation is the 12-month suspension Stenson faced after being relegated from LIV Golf at the end of the 2025 season.
The 50-year-old, who has kept his profile low since his exit as a Majesticks co-captain on LIV, posted an impressive two-under round of 68 on Thursday morning on his Open Championship return at Birkdale. Ten years on from his famous win at Royal Troon ten years ago,
He birdied three three of his final four holes, including the devilish par-4 18th, with his veteran old caddie Fanny Sunesson on the bag.
“So I’m kind of reinstated as a member, and I’m free to play PGA Tour sanctioned tournaments from the 25th of August this year,” he explained afterwards.
Stenson will not playing on the PGA Tour upon his return Stateside, but the PGA Tour Champions, the over-50s circuit for which he’s now eligible.
“I’m playing some Champions events and some bits and pieces on the back end of the schedule. So I’ll probably get to 13, 14 tournaments when it’s all said and done at this point. Could be something in Europe, and there will be one in Asia as well.
“Even if you’re playing a little bit less of a schedule, you’ve still got to work on those air miles and make sure you’re keeping gold status somewhere.”
Stenson has played only four times this year, making his early Open renaissance all the more impressive.
“I mean, time flies, as we know, waits for no one,” he said. “Sometimes it feels like it certainly was a decade ago. With other things you feel like maybe it was a little more recent.
“At least when you hit a 5-iron to six feet to make it on the last, you probably feel like it wasn’t that long ago!”