Henrik Stenson bids to become first Swedish Open champion

Third in last week’s Scottish Open, super Swede Henrik Stenson is gunning to become the first Scandinavian to win the Open.

And in-form Stenson has certainly given himself a chance of achieving that feat after two rounds of 70 (-2) put him in prime position for a weekend assault.

And how the Swede would love to get his hands on the prized trophy. He admits: “I think about being the first Swede, the first Scandinavian to win the Open all the time. That’s all I’m thinking, no one’s won it, no one’s won it.

“Obviously I would like to be the first Swede to win a Major. Like I said, we’ve got some work to do before we talk about that. I’d rather talk about how that feels on Sunday… if it happens.”

Stenson admits he’s served up some “wishy washy” golf over the past two days but is quietly optimistic about his chances. “If I’m up there on Sunday, why shouldn’t I win it? I’m obviously doing a lot of good stuff so far, and it’s all about being in position and halfway through we’re in good position.

“We’ve still got an afternoon left to see what the other guys are doing. But we should be up there or thereabouts by the end of the day. So it’s all about being there and if I can be there Sunday afternoon, I’d be happy and then we’ll just see how the chips fall.

“I’ve got to keep on playing good golf and sticking to my plans but there’s so much I can’t control. I can only try to control how I do my processes and hit my shots, and then it’s down to the bounces and what the other guys do as well.”