Henrik Stenson believes the physicality of the swings used by Rory McIlroy and Jason Day inevitably plays a part in injuries. The Open champion has warned young players of the need to prepare their bodies for the strain caused by modern techniques.
McIlroy will miss the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship after suffering a stress fracture to a rib. Stenson has incurred a series of injuries in the recent past as have Day, the world No1, and Justin Rose. With Tiger Woods attempting his latest comeback from back trouble there is rising concern that players are putting pressure on their health.
“You see how hard Jason and Rory go after it,” Stenson said. “Not that I necessarily just pat it myself, but they really go after it and that’s going to put a lot of pressure on knees, back and neck, and so on. You’ve got to watch it.
“The advice I would give to the next generation is make sure you work hard from the beginning on your fitness. A lot of guys do, not everyone; it doesn’t show up normally when you’re 20 or 25. It comes at a later stage. That’s when you’re paying for the wear and tear and a very one-sided motion that we do.
“If you’ve got more injuries now, possibly a little bit more because of the way everyone tries to hit it and get it a far distance off the tee, that’s going to give you the chances of being injured a little bit more.”
The five-times major winner Phil Mickelson has expressed similar concerns. “You can play for a lifetime and injury-free if you swing the club like Bobby Jones did, where it’s a swinging motion rather than a violent movement,” he said. “A lot of the young guys continue to get hurt as they create this violent, connected movement and I don’t believe that that’s the proper way to swing the club.
“Hopefully, kids will swing the club with less of a violent body movement and be able to play for a lifetime.”
Stenson, in the desert for his first start of 2017, admitted to fatigue after stopping off in Stockholm en route from his Florida home. There the 40-year-old pipped Zlatan Ibrahimovic to be named Sweden’s male athlete of 2016. “I had some pretty good competition,” he said with a smile.
Stenson was among those to praise the European Tour for fresh regulations relating to Ryder Cup qualification.
The changes, as laid out by Europe’s captain, Thomas Bjorn, on Wednesday include four wildcard options for 2018 plus enhanced qualifying points for tournaments towards the end of the automatic process. Players need to play four regular European Tour events to retain membership status and thereby be eligible for the Ryder Cup.
“I gave my input,” Stenson said. “We came to a good system and it gives enough room for movement with an extra pick for Thomas.
“Weighing the qualification points a little heavier towards the end to get players that are in form to pick up some extra points toward the end is also good.
“The ask of being a member is not that hard. If you can’t make the effort to play four tournaments, then you’re not really that interested in being part of that team.”
In the top group for play on Thursday and Friday, Stenson will have Dustin Johnson and Danny Willett for company. Willett, who confirmed he will take up his PGA Tour card this season, is seeking a fresh start after the poor form and dismal Ryder Cup experience that followed his Masters triumph last April.
“It was nice to put the clubs away for a few weeks after what was the best year of my career but also one with a few lows,” he said.
“We needed an in-depth look at what was good and bad, then map out what we wanted to do this year.”