Henrik Stenson may have famously lost the Ryder Cup captaincy, but he's still claiming an assist for Europe's victory in Rome, saying Luke Donald got the benefit of the work he did before being replaced.
The veteran Swede was appointed 18 months before the match with America at Marco Simone, but held the position for just 127 days before being replaced after he decided to join LIV Golf.
Instead of celebrating extending Europe's home dominance beyond 30 years with victory in Rome, Stenson was across the Atlantic at his Florida home watching some of the Ryder Cup on TV.
Donald received universal praise for the job he did as Europe's leader, so much so that he'll continue as captain for the return at Bethpage in 2025 - but Stenson says at least some of the preparations were started by him when he was initially made captain.
“Quite a lot of that was carrying on from the work that we started a year out,” Stenson told the Evening Standard.
“All the changes on the golf course, and quite a few of the people who were involved with the team. Even though I wasn’t anywhere near the team, I still knew what was going on.
"Some of those things were put in place a while back - I knew how the golf bags were looking, I knew what fairways and bunkers were put in place, and who was in charge of the analytics on the team with Edoardo [Molinari]. There weren’t too many surprises with what was going on.”
Stenson shocked the golfing world when joining LIV as the sitting European captain, and it was always a risk to make such a move when the eyes of European golf were on him.
Luke Donald will remain European captain for another Ryder Cup
So while Donald was being sprayed by champagne on the 18th green at Marco Simone, Stenson had to watch on in America.
“I watched some of it,” Stenson added. “With the time difference, the two morning sessions were pretty much done by the time I woke up.
“Clearly the boys did a phenomenal job and racked up a big lead. On Sunday, as there always is, one team rallies back a little bit and at one point it looked tighter. It ended up with a European win as you thought it would after two days.
“All the plans put in place worked out and paid dividends on home soil.”
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