{"id":614078,"date":"2026-04-19T08:24:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T08:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/614078\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T08:24:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T08:24:09","slug":"liv-golf-booted-a-major-winner-this-week-a-new-chapter-starts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/614078\/","title":{"rendered":"LIV Golf booted a major winner. This week, a \u2018new chapter’ starts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Playing his first-ever senior-level event, which follows an eight-month break, which was forced by being booted out of LIV Golf, Henrik Stenson<\/a> is answering questions when a reporter wonders about his driving average.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy average?\u201d Stenson says.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYeah, I\u2019ve trimmed it down to about 360 to go easy on the guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s not finished. He has one more crack.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy carry distance is probably about 290, I\u2019d say, with the driver.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I got a picture of you on the golf ball, I might be able to squeeze another 10 out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consider Stenson\u2019s mood light then, even after recent events. This week, the 2016 Open Championship winner is playing the Senior PGA Championship<\/a> at the Concession Golf Club in Florida, and through two rounds, he was tied for 26th. He\u2019s calling it a \u201cnew chapter.\u201d Thing is, though, Stenson probably wouldn\u2019t be playing his first event with the over-50 gang had his play gone just slightly differently last August.<\/p>\n

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He knows the details. He\u2019d played been with Saudi-backed LIV since the third event of its first season, in 2022, which he won. He\u2019d been a team captain. Then he was out. He finished LIV\u2019s last event where points were awarded to players in 49th place in the individual standings<\/a>, just below close friend Ian Poulter<\/a>, and 49th and worst were relegated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the way it goes,\u201d Stenson said, \u201cbut I had it all in my own hands. and I didn\u2019t finish it the way I wanted and should have.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I mean, it is what it is. It doesn\u2019t really matter who\u2019s the one that knocks you out or over-jump you by a shot. That\u2019s just the nature of the sport. I got no one else to blame than myself for not playing better in the final round.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, he paused. There was some plotting. In November, according to multiple outlets<\/a>, he paid fines with the DP World Tour handed out due to his LIV play, clearing a return. Earlier this month, he turned 50, making him eligible for senior events. Next week, he\u2019ll play on the Legends Tour, the DP World Tour\u2019s senior circuit. In August, he said a suspension imposed by the PGA Tour will end, meaning he may play PGA Tour Champions tour tournaments. He\u2019ll also try to qualify for the U.S. Open, and he\u2019ll play in the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior Open.<\/p>\n

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But from last August to this week, Stenson played nowhere. He said he welcomed that, guessing that since 1989, when he first started playing, that he hadn\u2019t taken more than five months off.<\/p>\n

\u201cRelaxed, refreshed,\u201d Stenson said when asked what a pro does with eight months off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve toured the world for 28 years, and I felt during Covid that it was kind of nice to have \u2014 you feel like you can kind of land a little bit and have that extra bit of time. I\u2019ve felt the same now.<\/p>\n

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\"at<\/a><\/p>\n

at Perez plays from the rough on the ninth hole during the second round of the Senior PGA Championship 2026 at The Concession Golf Club<\/p>\n

\u201cI probably needed it even more so this time around. I was definitely run down, and I think being in your own house eating well, sleeping well, working out, just like getting back into a good day-to-day rhythm has really helped me, and I\u2019m in a much better place now than I was six months ago.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYeah, I\u2019m feeling like I really needed the time. In terms of the golf, like I said, I don\u2019t think after 30 years you forget how to compete, but you might need a couple of rounds to get back into it. Also, it wasn\u2019t like I played my best golf when I went on kind of this longer break, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

This week, at the Senior PGA, Stenson has started well. On Thursday, he shot even-par 72. On Friday, he was two shots better and made the weekend. He said he\u2019s reconnected with old faces.<\/p>\n

There was a time he thought he maybe didn\u2019t want to play senior golf, but here he is.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never want to turn 50,\u201d Stenson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt beats the alternative, but yeah, time flies, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

The post LIV Golf booted a major winner. This week, a \u2018new chapter’ starts\u00a0<\/a> appeared first on Golf<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Playing his first-ever senior-level event, which follows an eight-month break, which was forced by being booted out of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614079,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[49,48,231049,622,51852,39371,37044,82],"class_list":["post-614078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-concession-golf","tag-golf","tag-henrik-stenson","tag-liv","tag-play","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}