24 July 2023 , 17:51
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Henrik Stenson has admitted that still remains 'disappointed' with the decision that saw him stripped of European Ryder Cup captaincy last July.
Stenson was initially appointed as Team Europe captain last March, but after making the decision to join LIV Golf, he was sacked from the role just four months later. At the time the Swede admitted he 'disagreed' with the decision, but was keen to join the breakaway circuit to 'grow the game and using the game as a force for good'.
The 2016 Open champion has since been replaced by one of his former teammates in Englishman Luke Donald, who took over the reins from Stenson less than two weeks after his sacking.
Since then Stenson has appeared dignified off the course, and even thrived on it, after he went on to secure victory in his first ever LIV Golf event in Bedminster just days after he was relieved of his Ryder Cup duties. Upon his return to the DP World Tour in January, the Swede impressed once more, securing a top-20 and top-10 finish at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and Dubai Desert Classic.
Since then Stenson has continued to play his golf on the LIV circuit, before returning at last week's Open, where he once again caught the eye with a tied-13th finish. The final major of the year at Hoylake marked the 12-month anniversary of his Ryder Cup sacking.
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And whilst he did the talking with his clubs on the course, off it there appears to still be a feeling of frustration when it comes to his dismissal. Speaking to the New York Post, he said: "I’m just disappointed with everything that came out because there was a big willingness on my part to sit down and talk long before this thing got to where it got to."
Henrik Stenson was sacked last summer (Getty Images)As a result the Swedish star believes if the two parties had sat down and discussed some sort of resolution between European bosses and the LIV setup, his brutal sacking could well have been avoided. "That’s my disappointment," the 47-year-old went on.
"There were certain people, without naming names, that didn’t want to sit down and take those meetings. And, as a consequence, I feel like we ended up in all this that could have been avoided. But we live and we learn.’’ Stenson's dismissal may have been somewhat premature if the last six weeks in professional golf is anything to go by.
This comes after hostilities appeared to have ended on June 6 after the PGA Tour announced an agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF). The deal will see the PGA Tour and DP World Tour work in unison with LIV Golf, after an ugly 12-month dispute between the two tours and the breakaway league.