GOLF/The Heritage: Henrik Stenson, a largely forgotten Swede who last won in 2001, was, in a contrary kind of way, a fitting winner of The Heritage event over the Duke's course yesterday.
Furthermore, it was also fitting that a Spaniard, Carlos Rodiles, should be runner-up, and that another Swede, Patrik Sjoland, and a Dane, Anders Hansen, should be third and fourth.
Stenson, with a superb final round of 66, six under par, finished with a total of 269, 19 under, to be four ahead of Rodiles and six ahead of his playing partner Sjoland, and so replicated his only other win, in the Benson and Hedges three years and 89 events ago.
The Heritage event was created to honour the achievements of Ken Schofield, the main mover behind the creation of what is a genuinely European tour, who retires at the end of the year. Over the last 30 years it has been Schofield's vision that has enabled the Tour to expand literally throughout the Continent, growing the game in countries in which it had been a minority sport.
The result is that countries like Sweden now have 21 players who have won, in total, 55 events on the European Tour, while Spain also have 21, who have won 127 events. Spain, of course, have had Severiano Ballesteros (50 wins) and Jose Maria Olazabal (22) to help boost their total.
After his win three years ago, Stenson all but disappeared from the scene. He went from 44th that year in the order of merit to 176th in 2002, and the temptation was to think of him as a one-win wonder.
Yesterday, though, he said of that slump: "Some people stay and fight the battle and others give up, and I think I fought pretty well. I am back in the winners' circle and I am pretty happy about that."
It was fitting, too, that youth should be represented in such an event. James Heath is already a much-heralded amateur, a member of the Walker Cup squad and winner this year of the Lytham Trophy, one of the prestigious tournaments on the amateur circuit. The manner of that victory spoke of a true talent, for his winning total of 266 was brought about by rounds of 67, 68, 66, 65 - which is five strokes fewer than Tom Lehman needed when he won the Open at Lytham in 1996.
Yesterday Heath had a final round 70, finishing with an eagle for a five-under total of 283.
"I'm almost more impressed by that than by Lytham," said the watching Chubby Chandler, manager of Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke among others. "It's difficult for an amateur to come out among the pros and concentrate for four rounds."
Phillip Price challenged briefly but he and Graeme McDowell, another early leader, ran into terminal difficulty at the long 13th, a hole at which they wanted birdies but took sixes. They were both just short of the green in two, Price contrived to find a bunker with his third and McDowell, through the green in three, hit an awful chip.
At the back end of last season Rodiles probably should have won the Volvo Masters, but lost out to Fredrik Jacobson, who won at the fourth extra hole of a sudden-death play-off.
At that stage the 29-year-old Spaniard looked a real prospect but this season he seemed to vanish almost entirely. But rather than a drastic loss of form - his first top-10 finish this season was not until three weeks ago - the reason for his relative demise turned out to be a broken rib and pulled intercostal muscle during the close season. He came back too early and, he said: "Put too much pressure on myself trying to follow up what I did at Valderrama."
