LIV Golf booted a major winner. This week, a ‘new chapter' starts

Henrik Stenson tees off on Friday on the 2nd hole at the Concession Golf Club.Getty Images

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 is answering questions when a reporter wonders about his driving average.

“My average?” Stenson says.

“Yeah, I’ve trimmed it down to about 360 to go easy on the guys.”

He’s not finished. He has one more crack.

“My carry distance is probably about 290, I’d say, with the driver.

“If I got a picture of you on the golf ball, I might be able to squeeze another 10 out of it.”

Consider Stenson’s mood light then, even after recent events. This week, the 2016 Open Championship winner is playing the Senior PGA Championship at the Concession Golf Club in Florida, and through two rounds, he was tied for 26th. He’s calling it a “new chapter.” Thing is, though, Stenson probably wouldn’t be playing his first event with the over-50 gang had his play gone just slightly differently last August.

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

“That’s the way it goes,” Stenson said, “but I had it all in my own hands. and I didn’t finish it the way I wanted and should have.

“Yeah, I mean, it is what it is. It doesn’t really matter who’s the one that knocks you out or over-jump you by a shot. That’s just the nature of the sport. I got no one else to blame than myself for not playing better in the final round.”

From there, he paused. There was some plotting. In November, , 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’ll play on the Legends Tour, the DP World Tour’s 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’ll also try to qualify for the U.S. Open, and he’ll play in the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior Open.