Stenson eyes top prize in Sun City

Golf Round-Up:  Ryder Cup star Henrik Stenson's ambition is to become the first Swede to win a major but his main focus this…

Golf Round-Up: Ryder Cup star Henrik Stenson's ambition is to become the first Swede to win a major but his main focus this week is to win the €1million first prize on offer at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

The world number 16 is one of 12 invited guests tackling the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City and he aims to go one better than his runner-up spot to Jim Furyk last year.

"If I finished second in my first attempt, I've got to win second time, right?" joked Stenson, who has had an up and down season.

He won the WGC Accenture Match Play and the Dubai Desert Classic in February, banking €1.25m in the process, and finished fourth in the European Order of Merit.

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However, despite those two huge victories the Swede remains unsatisfied.

"It's been my best season because I had the two biggest tournament wins of my career so far," he said.

"But the consistency was not as high as I would have liked. I had more top-10 finishes in 2006 - but then again, we play to win golf tournaments.

"The next step would hopefully be to try win a major and have some good major results. I haven't had a top-10 finish in a major so far. They're still the main focus and the most important ones."

Elsewhere England's Matthew Woods carded a four-under-par 68 to take a share of the lead after the first round of the New Zealand Open.

Woods started the day impressively, collecting successive birdies at the first two holes. He then bogeyed the par-three fourth before returning to two under by shooting four on the ninth and picking up further strokes at the 10th and 17th.

Woods shares top spot with Australian pair Crag Parry and Paul Sheehan at the The Hills Golf Club in Queenstown.

Parry, a 41-year-old PGA Tour veteran, hit four birdies on the outward nine after reaching the 10th pin on par, while Sheehan hit six birdies to combat consecutive bogeys at the seventh and eighth.

Parry, the 2002 champion, was pleased to make the best of favourable conditions on a newly-developed course, which he admits could be a trial in less accommodating conditions.

He said: "It's a course that, when it isn't blowing, you can go out and shoot a low number.

Damien McGrane is the only Irishman in the field and he opened with a level par 72.