After renewing his DP World Tour membership last year, Henrik Stenson is plotting his return to the professional game…
Henrik Stenson is closing in on a return to the professional game after his relegation from LIV Golf.
Stenson was forced to reassess his options when consigned to the breakaway league’s Drop Zone last season. He was dramatically ousted in a survival battle with his Majesticks co-captains Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood and has not made a competitive start anywhere since LIV’s Team Championship in August.
But Stenson, who was controversially stripped of the European Ryder Cup captaincy when he joined LIV in 2022, decided not to play in the Promotions Event in a bid to regain an immediate place back on the league this season.
Instead, the 2016 Open champion opted for a different route by settling the outstanding fines that he had racked up from the DP World Tour for playing in LIV events without permission.
And after serving a suspension to clear his remaining sanctions, Stenson is now officially free to play as a member on the Wentworth-based circuit again having originally resigned his membership in 2023.
Stenson, who is seventh on the DP World Tour’s all-time money list with $33million in earnings, has Category 11A status this season which gets him into various events. He can also accept sponsor’s invites to tee it up in the bigger tournaments, but it is unclear how many times he plans to play on the main tour.
That’s because Stenson turns 50 on April 5 and will then also be eligible to take on the seniors circuit.
TG has learned that the Swede is planning to make his debut on the Legends Tour at the upcoming Barbados Legends event at Apes Hill. The tournament, hosted by 1991 Masters champion Ian Woosnam, starts on April 23, three weeks after Stenson’s 50th birthday.
A week prior, the Senior PGA Championship is staged at The Concession Golf Club in Florida. Stenson is eligible and has entered the major’s field in what will be his first appearance among the over-50s before his forthcoming trip to the Caribbean paradise.
With a clear schedule, Stenson can then have a run at the remaining senior majors. After celebrating the 10-year anniversary of his famous Troon win when the Open heads to Royal Birkdale in July, Stenson could conclude his major season the following week with a debut in the ISPS Handa Senior Open at Gleneagles.
Poulter, meanwhile, is guaranteed at least one more season on LIV after staving off the relegation threat. The Englishman, who himself has just turned 50, was asked by TG at a recent season preview event in Florida whether Stenson would still have any input with the Majesticks after being cut from the league.
“I saw him a couple nights ago at my birthday, he looked in good spirits,” Poulter said. “He looks to be doing well. I don’t know how much involvement he’s going to have with the team but Lee and I are firmly captains and very proud to push this team forward.”