The 2016 Open champion, who turned 50 last month, has not played in a competitive setting since being relegated from the breakaway LIV league last August.<\/p>\n
But back home in Orlando, Stenson has been quietly plotting this next chapters of his career and is making a comeback this week with his senior debut at the $3 million Senior PGA Championship at the Concession Golf Club near Tampa. A week later, he will compete on the Staysure Legends Tour\u2019s Barbados event<\/a>, hosted at Apes Hill by the former world No.1 and Masters champion Ian Woosnam.<\/p>\n Stenson is now eligible for Legends Tour and DP World Tour events after settling his outstanding fines with Wentworth HQ back in November. He has recovered the card that he had given up in 2023 due to mounting fines \u2013 which had been upheld by an arbitration panel \u2013 for playing in LIV events without a release from the DP World Tour. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0the longest competitive break in my 28-year career,\u201d Stenson says. \u201cThe\u00a0previous\u00a0longest was Covid \u2013 about four and a half months. It will be a long break, but\u00a0I\u2019d\u00a0hope 28 years of experience means you can pick up where you left off.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m\u00a0in a position now where I can fully control my schedule and play how much or how little I want, you know, going forward, and\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0really pleased to be in that situation at this stage in my career.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if I want to play more golf once I get going here again, I have the\u00a0option\u00a0to do that. And if I feel like I want to play a little bit less than previous years, then I can do that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Stenson joined LIV in 2022 as a co-captain of LIV\u2019s Majesticks GC team alongside Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, but was dumped after being dramatically ousted into the Drop Zone by Poulter during last season\u2019s final individual event at Chatham Hills in Indiana. <\/p>\n He was removed as European Ryder Cup captain and replaced by Luke Donald after it emerged he was making the LIV move four years ago. The Swede, though, now prefers to look beyond his time on the league, where he won one individual title and earned over $10million in prize money<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0going to be a bit of a hybrid this year for sure,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m\u00a0playing the Senior PGA, playing Barbados Legends, and then most likely I might do a US Open qualifier in London for the regular US Open,\u201d he said. \u201cIn July,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0playing Senior US Open, the Open and the Senior Open.\u201d<\/p>\n The US Open qualifier, comprising 36 holes in a single day, takes place at Walton Heath on May 18. <\/p>\n \u201cThen there will be something on the DP World Tour as well as maybe Champions Tour,\u201d he adds. \u201cI should have a clearer picture going into 2027 after trying out some different tournaments and different tours.\u201d <\/p>\n