Veteran Henrik Stenson falls for a disastrous back nine to lose his lead in the opening round of the Masters
While Peter Hanson did a splendid job in the opening round of the Masters at Augusta National, Henrik Stenson was one of the unfortunate Swedes who pulled in an unprecedented start on the front only to fall for a disastrous back nine.
36-year-old Stenson, winner of no fewer than 12 professional titles, is Sweden’s best bet in the thorny Masters this year but the raging veteran was not impressed with his surprising fall on the back nine.
Stenson opened up the front nine, what can easily be termed as the finest knock throughout the day, when he landed two eagles and a birdie to clinch an early lead.
His first eagle came at par-five, second. Boasted by the early gain, Stenson moved in to sink a birdie and yet another eagle at par-five 8th before making the turn.
By that time, it was more than obvious that the fiery Stenson will clinch the first round lead of the 76th Masters.
Stenson said, "I had made two great eagles, hit some great second shots and made a putt on two par‑5s on the front nine and obviously kept it together".
He made the turn to card another birdie on the 10th. His first bogey came at par-four, 14th.
He quickly moved in to curtail the damage to pull a birdie on the next but little did he realise that his fate was already sealed.
He dropped another shot at par-three-16th and went over to face the nightmare quadruple-bogey eight at the closing hole.
Losing all his gains for the day, Stenson had to settle for one-under, 71, for a disappointing joint 14th.
He added, “I made some good saves, and I even chipped in once for par and really kept it together. But after 11 I didn't hit one fairway off the tee, and that's obviously going to cost you at some point. Even though I didn't expect it to cost as much as it did on 18”.
Hanson, on the other hand, has done well to help Swedes remain in contention for the coveted title and is trailing the leader by one stroke.
Stenson will now have to jump back to his defensive mode in order to salvage his shaken confidence in the rest of the rounds.
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