‘I played like a captain’ – Henrik Stenson wins LIV Golf Bedminster, after being stripped of Ryder Cup captaincy

A little over a week on from being stripped of the Ryder Cup captaincy, Henrik Stenson hogged the headlines once again after taking victory in the third LIV Golf event in Bedminster.

The Swede’s move to LIV caused huge controversy, after he said in March when taking the Ryder Cup captaincy that he had no intention of jumping ship.

His career had been on the slide for some time, his recent form poor, but he sparked to life in Bedminster and swelled his bank balance to the tune of over $4 million – on top of the huge signing bonus.

“I guess we can agree I played like a captain,” Stenson said. “It has been a good first week.

“It has been a busy 10 days and I am extremely proud to focus the way I did.

“It was a bit wobbly coming home, not finishing the deal in a couple of years, and a little added pressure so it was good.”

Stenson began the final round with a three-stroke lead. That advantage was extended to five after his opening hole. A bogey from Dustin Johnson coupled with the Swede rolling in a birdie from 15 feet gave him plenty of breathing space.

Talor Gooch briefly cut the gap to four, but a brilliant iron approach – Stenson’s strength at his peak – on his fifth hole set up a birdie to extend the advantage to five shots.

Final Leaderboard

• 1. Henrik Stenson, 11-under
• T2. Dustin Johnson, nine-under
• T2. Matthew Wolff, nine-under
• 4. Carlos Ortiz, eight-under
• 5. Patrick Reed, seven-under
• T6. Paul Casey, four-under
• T6. Talor Gooch, four-under
• T6. Sergio Garcia, four-under
• T6. Lee Westwood, four-under
• T6. Turk Pettit, four-under

The first moment of alarm for Stenson came on the seventh when he tugged his tee shot to the left, but he got up and down for a par to retain a four-stroke lead.

Matthew Wolff chipped in for a birdie to cut the gap to Stenson to two strokes, but a brilliant birdie on 14 – set up by a glorious tee shot on the long par three – moved him three clear.

Stenson surprisingly dropped a shot on the par five 15th, and was in danger of another bogey on 17 when finding the sand with his approach. He splashed out to 12 feet and rolled in a superb putt, and celebrated it with a pump of the fist.

He had a two-shot cushion stood on the final tee, and played it in textbook fashion to close out the win in the third LIV Golf event – his first victory since the Wyndham Championship in 2017.

The team event went to Johnson’s 4 Aces, who romped to a eight-shot win over Majesticks.