Henrik Stenson is looking to strengthen his position at the summit of the Race to Dubai at this week’s WGC-HSBC Champions event in China.
Stenson, suffering from a cold and a wrist injury, did not get off to the start he was hoping for in the first event of the European Tour’s four-part Final Series, finishing tied for 33rd in last week’s BMW Masters.
But, after shaking off his injury and ailments, the World No 4 improved on a third round 79 by 14 shots with a superb closing 65 at Lake Malaren Golf Club, and he is hoping to take that momentum into the final World Golf Championshipsevent of the year and put some distance between himself and the chasing pack in the Race to Dubai.
Stenson currently holds a $443,725 lead over second placed Graeme McDowell, but having finished tied 13th on his last visit to Sheshan International in 2010, he is targeting a strong performance this week, with a first prize of $102,145 on offer inShanghai.
“This is obviously a big event on our schedule and one which we always look forward to,” said Stenson.
“It is one of the strongest fields of the season and I have played quite well at Sheshan before, so I’m hoping for a good week. I need to have some good results if I am going to finish on top and win the Race to Dubai.
“I imagine it will still be quite open when we get to Dubai, so if I can have a good result this week it will really help me. If not, I will keep working away.
Having won the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship in 2007, Stenson is looking to capture his second World Golf Championships title this week, with his resurgence over the last 12 months securing a return to the event that he has not qualified for since 2010.
“I’ve missed this event the last couple of years so it is great to be back in the field,” said Stenson.
“That was one of my big goals when I started to climb back up the rankings to get back in the big events, and this is certainly one of those.”
Ian Poulter is defending champion this week, with the field also including Open champion Phil Mickelson and former World No 1 Rory McIlroy.