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OLYMPIC GAMES RIO 2016: GOLF

August 12, 2016

Henrik Stenson

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Q. Interesting start, shall we say. Pretty spectacular.
HENRIK STENSON: Well, I think it was an interesting start and an interesting finish in a way. I guess it was just a bit of ordinary golf in the middle. I mean, it was tough conditions as you saw, teeing off in the rain and the wind, and it played pretty long there.
You know, our group and the group around us probably got three of the toughest holes in those conditions there right at the start. You know, I don't know, drive into the wind maybe 250 yards on the second. Hit a 4‑wood from like 220, pitched pin‑high, just released over the back. Made, I don't know, a 40‑footer, 50‑footer for birdie.
And then both Rafa and myself hit in the water on the next. Dropped it. I managed to tickle a 4‑wood up on the front part of the green, and I don't know, anywhere between 80 and a hundred feet from the hole and you're just standing there praying for a 2‑putt bogey. Before I know it, I think it found the bottom of the cup. That's the longest putt I've made in my career, would I say. First of all, it's hard to get a putt that long on any green in the world, and maybe St. Andrews on a double green, you can find one. It must have been close to a hundred feet, that one.

Q. ShotLink said 108 feet. We thought it was broken.
HENRIK STENSON: No, it's not broken. I tell you, it's not broken. I mean, I felt broken at the time. Then to kind of semi‑duff it; it plugged in the bunker on the next, made 4 on 4, and then we kind of got going a little bit. And towards the end there, I didn't make a par the last five holes. I think I made two birdies and three bogeys. Disappointing one on 17, miss‑hit that shot badly and ended up making 4. It was a little compensation getting up‑and‑down on 18, making that seven, 8‑footer on the last for birdie. That kind of makes it feel a bit better when you're walking off.
3‑under is not a bad score out there I think. Especially not with that first, five, six holes in those conditions. All in all, happy with that. I didn't play as solid as I did yesterday, but we still are at the race and still in good position halfway through the tournament.

Q. Very good position, not sure where Marcus is going to finish, but you're right in contention before you want to be with 36 to go.
HENRIK STENSON: There's a lot of golf still to play. Of course, you would recognise that, I've said that before, I always prefer to be two ahead than two behind. If you're not there at the halfway turn, you've got more to make up for the next two rounds. But 36 holes, if you're playing good, you can obviously makeup quite a few shots. Yeah, happy with the first two days.

Q. Somebody said members of the handball team were here.
HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, I saw a couple of the guys out there. I've been watching them quite a lot, so I guess it's only fair that they repay the favor, right. Of course when you have some of the best athletes out there, you want to try to hit it close and I did on a couple of occasions. They have got a day off, so I get they are just out relaxing and healing up some bruises from yesterday's battle.

Q. Which game would you rather watch, golf or handball?
HENRIK STENSON: I'd probably do a bit of both. Can't you have two televisions next to each other?

Q. I'm talking about in person.
HENRIK STENSON: I think as a general sports fan, I prefer any sport at the highest level is always interesting. But it's definitely been more action in happened ball than it is in golf. But I wouldn't mind playing a round with you where I can kind of tackle the same way as those guys do. Quite an amazing game, I'd think. It could make for good television, those nine holes. Top of the backswing, someone comes in and just toppling you over.

Q. You weren't at the handball last night?
HENRIK STENSON: No, I didn't go. I watched it on television last night.

Q. Did you play any handball as a kid growing up?
HENRIK STENSON: I played soccer. I played some badminton in the winters. I played bandy, which is like golf on ice. Have you watched that? Have you ever watched bandy? You're like on a soccer pitch with skates. It's almost like field hockey on ice. That's probably the best way to describe it. I played some different sports. My dad played a lot of handball, so that's why I'm very familiar with that game.

Q. Did that give you any type of Olympic feel, when you've got athletes‑‑ we've talked all week to you guys going to other sports, but having them come out here?
HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, that's when you really feel like you're part of this big event where you've got other sports stars to come out to watch us play and we're in the grandstand to watch them play. You certainly get that feeling that you're part of something bigger, yeah.

Q. Does it also feel now like a regular tournament in that you're going to make the cut, go to the third round, redraw, and in contention; is it starting to feel like a competition?
HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, it's felt like a competition all along. Slightly different than most‑‑ we are all kind of creatures of habit. We are used to having things a certain way, and here there's a few different things. We're lining up differently for the announcements. The signs are different.
Just little bits and pieces. Having to talk with all you guys after each round; sometimes we can kind of sneak away. But there's no escape here. You're like the sheep, ready to get shaved at the end. It's just small things that makes it feel slightly different.
But all in all, it's another golf tournament, and I mean, I felt‑‑ I saw the remarks that some guys were more nervous walking here. I actually felt kind of opposite. I don't know if it was because I was pretty clear on my game and what I was going to do. I felt less butterflies walking to the tee box than at some other events. We'll see; I'm sure that will change if you've got a Gold Medal on the line on Sunday afternoon. I'm sure there might be one little one.

Q. Are you a player that when the weather is bad, you make a few mistakes, you still go around in 3‑under, pretty good.
HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, I got saved by a few monster putts early. Yeah, when things are going your way, obviously one or two of those drop. But overall, even though I didn't play as solid as did I yesterday; I think yesterday was probably more a reflection of what you're trying to say there; that even though it was tough conditions, I went out and played a really solid round. It was I guess the best round in the later part of the field.
Yeah, if you're happy with most of the things, then keep on going, even if there's tough conditions. I didn't quite play as well today, but I still managed to keep it together, like I said. And the stretch that I feel is probably the hardest is between 10 and 14 on this golf course, and even making a few mistakes, I still kept it together quite nicely in that stretch. In the beginning, you can pick it up, and towards the end, you plan to pick it up, especially in this wind direction. Slightly different angle today, and I don't know if it's scheduled to keep on turning.

Q. The bunker shot on 10 sort of set you in the other direction it seemed like?
HENRIK STENSON: Yeah, I missed the fairway both times. It's a bit of a quirky angle on that tee shot. It's kind of coming across, and left it out in the sand both days. Yeah, I just hit a flyer over from the third shot and yeah, a good bunker shot there saved me. Yesterday after two, I had a 4‑iron to that pin yesterday and managed to get that up about 12 feet and nearly made birdie. I've been lucky enough to get away with two pars on 10 for sure.

Q. How much time did you spend lookingat a 108‑foot putt?
HENRIK STENSON: I did my homework. It wasn't like you could read every break. I just had to look kind of straight, a bit of left‑to‑right, coming back at the end, and you just kind of go with that feeling and hit it. The scary thing was that it was like 30 feet out and looking like it's stoned dead. My caddie was attending the pin and he felt the same. It was just like tracking. He thought it was going to be a tap‑in and just like came up and took a little dive into the cup, which I wasn't against.

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