Posted by Jason Sobel
MARANA, Ariz. -- Henrik Stenson, you just won the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship! What are you going to do next?
If you guessed Disney World, well, you're not far off.
The longtime European Tour member has made a commitment to compete in "15 or 16" U. S. events this year and is currently building a home at Lake Nona, a private community in Orlando that is home to so many other top professionals.
"I've taken up membership and I'm sort of going half and half between Europe and America," Stenson said earlier this week.
By virtue of finishing last season as the equivalent of 104th on the PGA Tour money list as a non-member, Stenson was able to exercise a clause that granted him full-time status for 2007. With this victory, he's now fully exempt on tour through the 2010 season.
So what should we expect from the 30-year-old Swede in the short-term future? Well, I'm not promising a U.S. Open trophy, but his career up until this point has very much paralleled that of fellow Match Play finalist Geoff Ogilvy when he won this event last year.
Think about it: Strong, young player on the rise, hits it long enough to compete with the world's elite and has played many courses worldwide that his game should suit all situations.
This isn't exactly going out on a limb, but expect Stenson to have at least 3-4 more wins by the time his original exemption expires in 3½ seasons. And expect him to follow in the footsteps of guys like Padraig Harrington and Ian Poulter, playing more in the U.S. and less in Europe as the years progress.
