The longest week of his career was behind him. The blue World Golf Championship trophy was at his side.
Henrik Stenson soaked it all in by slowly lowering his head on the table and closing his eyes.
“I’m too tired to be happy,” he said.
He played 120 holes in five days at the Accenture Match Play Championship in Marana, Ariz., the last 35 on Sunday against Geoff Ogilvy in the final that featured five lead changes and countless mood shifts until Stenson made back-to-back birdies for a 2-and-1 victory.
Stenson will go to No. 5 in the world, taking his place among the elite, the highest ranking by a Swede. He earned $1.35 million to move atop the PGA European Tour Order of Merit. The last time he felt such a rush of excitement and exhaustion was five months ago when he earned the winning point for Europe in the Ryder Cup.
That was for the flag. This was for himself.
In a slugfest that came down to survival, Stenson played mistake-free over the final 10 holes and made four birdies to surge past the U.S. Open champion and become only the second European to win this most unpredictable tournament.
“I was struggling big time with my game,” Stenson said. “Somehow, I managed to fight my way through the round and not let Geoff run away with it.”
Trying to win his 12th straight match, Ogilvy had a 2-up lead with 10 holes to play until he lost momentum with a three-putt bogey, lost the lead with another and couldn’t stop a sensational finish by Stenson.
Stenson hit 8-iron to 2 feet on the par-3 16th, and when Ogilvy missed his 6-foot birdie, the Swede went 2-up to the par-5 17th. He reached the green in two on the 600-yard hole and lagged his 60-foot putt so close that Ogilvy conceded.
“That’s just the way it goes,” said Ogilvy, who earned $800,000. “He wasn’t at his best, either, but he got it done when he needed to.”
PGA Tour: Fred Funk came to Mexico aiming to show the young guys on the tour that he could still play championship golf at age 50.
And he managed to do it, despite a back problem that left him aching like an old-timer.
The 50-year-old Funk overcame the pain and a rocky final round to win the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa Del Carmen, on the second hole of a playoff with Jose Coceres, making him only the second man to win on the regular tour after winning on the Champions Tour.
“I think I validated how good the players are on the Champions Tour,” Funk said. “Even though you are 50 or 51 through 55 … age doesn’t really mean anything. I just want to see how long I can last.”
The former University of Maryland coach closed with a 1-over-par 71, matching Coceres (69) at 14-under 266.
Champions Tour: Bobby Wadkins won the ACE Group Classic in Naples, Fla., holing a 13-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 4-under 68 and a one-stroke victory over Allen Doyle.
Wadkins finished with a 15-under 201 total and earned his fourth tour title. Doyle shot a 70.
Eduardo Romero (68) and Mike Reid (69) each birdied the final hole to tie for third at 13-under. Mark O’Meara closed with a 71 in his second senior start to tie for fifth with defending champion Loren Roberts.
