The Loop

Stenson, out of PGA, plays club championship

August 15, 2011

A little over two years ago, Sweden's Henrik Stenson won the Player's Championship by four strokes and rose to fourth in the Official World Golf Rankings. Last week, he teed it up in the club championship at his home course of Barseback in southern Sweden while the rest of the world's elite battled a tricky Atlanta Athletic Club in the PGA Championship.

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"I didn't qualify for the PGA and since I'm home in Sweden anyway, it was a natural thing to play my club championship," Stenson said to Golf.se's Tommie Gustavsson. "It's fun to see old friends and a tournament is always a little better than just practice."

Mired in a slump since a T-3 at the 2010 British Open, Stenson is currently ranked 130th in the world. At Barseback, he battled strong winds and plugged greens, a condition he doesn't often face on the PGA Tour. "I've only played seven holes here this year," he said. "It doesn't happen very often."

With his father, Ingemar, on the bag, Stenson shot a 54-hole total of 12-over 228 and finished second to Henrik Hilford Brander, who managed 227.