Home  »     »   US Masters: Henrik Stenson out to tame Tiger Woods

US Masters: Henrik Stenson out to tame Tiger Woods

| 04.04.2013

At 3/1 Tiger Woods remains the clear favourite to don the Green Jacket this year but Sweden’s Henrik Stenson could be the man to derail the American’s attempts to move to within one win of Jack Niklaus’ record six titles.

At best Henson has a chequered past at Augusta, hitting under par in just five of his 22 Masters rounds in Georgia, but he showed in last year’s competition that he has the ability to play himself into contention.

The Swede led during the first round of the 2012 tournament and at four-under par going into the final day was on course for a respectable placing.

However, a calamitous eight at Holly, the par-four 18th, left him tied for 40th on five-over par and contributed to a confidence lull that soon saw him plummet to No.133 in the world.

Even when in form Stenson has been seen to bottle the last round at Augusta, having never shot below par on day four, but recent displays suggest the 36-year-old could finally be ready to hold his nerve and lay his Masters ghosts to rest.

A six-under par final round at the Houston Open saw Stenson finish tied for runner-up for the second PGA Tour event in a row and this in itself marked an improvement on a T8 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

This upward trajectory indicates that Stenson could well be the man to take the challenge to Woods this year and his impressive stats seem to contradict his 50/1 pricing for the tournament.

At present, the Swede ranks first for driving accuracy (72.96 per cent), greens in regulation (77.78 per cent) and scrambling (75 per cent) and with Ladbrokes paying out on the top five finishers Henson looks a shrewd each-way investment for those opposing the likes of Woods, an out-of-sorts Rory McIlroy (10/1) and three-time champion Phil Mickelson.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

«
»

Author

James Curtis

After studying for a degree in journalism and gaining his NCTJ, James contributed to a wide range of papers, online publications and broadcasters including the South London Press, Press Association and Sky Sports News before joining the Ladbrokes News team.