Kern: Stenson won't rest on British Open laurels

SPRINGFIELD, N.J.

- Now that Sweden's Henrik Stenson has done something Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood still haven't, which is win a major, what's next? After all, it's been nine days since he shot 20-under to beat Phil Mickelson by three shots at Royal Troon in a British Open that was every bit as great as Jack Nicklaus-Tom Watson 39 years ago. If not better.

So where does his homeland's newest hero go from here?

"I think golf is a game where you're never going to be finished," the 40-year-old Stenson duly noted Tuesday at Baltusrol Golf Club, where the last major of the season begins Thursday morning, two weeks earlier than normal because of golf's return to the Olympics for the first time in more than a century. "I got a little perfectionist in there that's always been pushing me forward. And that can both make me and break me at times. I don't think I'm going to sit back and say, 'OK, that was it.'

"To win a major championship, that was pretty much the only thing I had not managed to achieve and now I have that. It's definitely the icing on the cake. At the same time, you can only look ahead and try to win another one.

"I think I've got a few good years left in me and I'm going to try and keep on developing. If you don't, these young guys are going to come up and take over. I've still got a bit of fight in me."

What he's been battling most since lifting the claret jug is everyone wanting a piece of him. That's what happens when you do something that no male golfer from your country has ever done. And Annika Sorenstam's last major victory was a decade ago.

"It's been an exciting time," he confirmed. "A couple of hectic days, a lot of media back in Sweden. It was massive. For me, of course, but for Swedish golf as well. We have been waiting for a male player to win a major championship for the last 25 years. Well, forever, I guess. But certainly in the last 25 years since some of the early players had some chances, Jesper Parnevik in particular.

"I had a great moment together with Goran Zachrisson. He's been Mr. Golf in Sweden for 50 years commentating. I mean, he was in tears. He thought he would never see the day.

"Then I had some time with the family and of course, every now and again give that claret jug a little glare and it brought a grin to my face every time, I'm sure. It's fantastic. A boyhood dream come true. But there's still a lot of golf, so we've got to try and focus on what's ahead."

Stenson became the fourth straight first-time major winner, going back to Jason Day at last year's PGA. But he, Day and Dustin Johnson (U.S. Open) were three guys whose breakthrough surprised nobody. You probably couldn't say the same about Danny Willett (Masters). The question becomes: Can Stenson win one or two more, or is he another Tom Kite, Davis Love or Lanny Wadkins? Not that there's anything wrong with that. But there is a difference.

This is his 42nd major and 10th PGA. He's been in the top six four times, with thirds in 2013 and '14.

"When you've got the momentum and you're playing well, it might not be bad to get straight back at it," said Stenson, who will tee off with Willett and Johnson from the first hole in the opening round at 1:45 in the afternoon. "There were quite a few of us who traveled straight from the Open down to Switzerland. I had a charity day together with Sergio Garcia, (for) his foundation. We had a press conference on Tuesday back home. Someone even told me they were broadcasting the whole thing live on national radio.

"Then I did quite a bit of television the next morning and some interviews in the afternoon. Yeah, a lot of interviews. I still managed to spend some time with my family and relax for a few days before coming over. But my signature has been pretty sought after since I touched base in New York."

Welcome to the big time. Now all he has to do is go out and play like the same guy who just shot 20-under.

"I haven't been in this situation before . . . ," acknowledged Stenson, who closed with a 63 in Scotland. "You live and you learn. And if we don't get it right, I'm sure we'll figure out why. It's important to get some practice sessions with good quality where I can get left alone a little bit, and they are kind of hard to come by these days."

Still, it's a problem everyone wants to have.

"It's nice to have that bragging right," he said. "I've shown the other Swedes that it's possible to do that. But whether I was first or second from my country or from Scandanavia to do it, that didn't matter that much. That's always a little extra bonus.

"It just shows you have to keep on trying. That's what I've been trying to do. It was nice to see Dustin win. He had some close calls and some heartbreaking calls in the past four, five years . . . I came off a stretch where I had not been anywhere close in the last five or six majors."

No need to explain anymore.