Henrik Stenson rises from sickbed to claim share of the lead in the Nedbank Golf Challenge
HENRIK STENSON turned a five per cent chance of playing into a share of the lead after the first round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge as Danny Willett made an excellent start to his title defence in Sun City.
Henrik Stenson carded a 66 to finish on six under par
Stenson finished joint last when seeking a hat-trick of victories in the DP World Tour Championship a fortnight ago, admitting his mind was "not in the right place" at the end of a long year, and arrived in South Africa suffering from the flu.
But the 39-year-old carded a flawless 66 at the Gary Player Country Club on Thursday to finish six under par alongside local favourite Jaco van Zyl, with Willett a shot behind following a bogey-free 67.
"I've been in bed with the flu for three days and after I had to pull out of the pro-am on Tuesday I probably had a five per cent chance of playing," said 2008 champion Stenson, who is also due to undergo a minor knee operation next week.
"I'm delighted with the score, but the last few holes I completely ran out of energy. From the 14th onwards my legs were like jelly and it was a real struggle. I missed a couple of chances coming in, but I would've taken one under standing on the first tee, so I'm very happy."