Subscribe to free Email Newsletter  
 
 
   

Golf-Ballesteros and Olazabal inspired rookie Stenson
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-09-20 09:00

STRAFFAN, Ireland, Sept 19- Rookie Henrik Stenson said he was inspired as a youngster by the Ryder Cup exploits of Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal.

"I remember I started to watch the Ryder Cup in 1989 when Olazabal and Seve were driving the green at the par-four 10th (at the Belfry)," Stenson told reporters. "That's one of the things that really affected me when I played.

"I won my first European Tour event (the 2001 Benson & Hedges International) at the Belfry and had a go at the green on the 10th in the last round and chipped in for eagle. They have inspired all of my golfing career."

Stenson and his Swedish compatriot Robert Karlsson played against Olazabal and fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia during practice on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old Stenson, who has four tour titles to his credit including two this season, is hoping he will be able to conquer the traditional first-shot nerves if he gets the call from European captain Ian Woosnam for Friday's foursomes or fourballs.

"I have heard some stories about (Paul) Azinger about the last time at the Belfry (in 2002)," he said. "I think he swapped clubs three times and hit the ball 30 yards wide and he was just happy to get it off the tee.

"Hopefully I will be a bit more under control. I had a chat a couple of weeks ago with Padraig (Harrington) and I expect the legs to be like jelly on Friday."

 
Comments (total China Daily Website - Connecting China Connecting the World

Sorry, the page you requested was not found.

Please check the URL for proper spelling and capitalization. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Chinadaily.com.cn, try visiting the Chinadaily home page

Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
)   Print This Article    E-mail  
 

   
Copyright 1995-2007. All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form.
Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
Registration Number: 20100000002731