Henrik Stenson wins first LIV tour event since defecting and being stripped of Ryder Cup captaincy

Henrik Stenson’s decision last week to sign up with the Saudi rebel circuit and so all but force Ryder Cup Europe to strip him of the captaincy was hugely controversial. Yet nobody can deny it was also outrageously lucrative, with a remarkably quick yield.

On winning his first LIV event here, Stenson, 46, added £3.3 million to the £40 million he received to break the contract he signed to lead his continent in next year’s Ryder Cup. 

There was another £305,000, his share of the runners-up team here, but that is such a piffling amount in relation it barely seems worth mentoring (although that eight per cent portion of his payday is still more than Sean Crocker collected for winning his first DP World Tour title on Sunday). 

In the last fortnight, the Swede has not quite doubled his career earnings, but he has come close to and considering the fact that the 2016 Open champion won £10m in two months in 2013 - having won both the PGA Tour and European Tour end-of-season bonuses - that is nothing short of ludicrous. 

But then, in a tie for sixth, Westwood took home almost £1m, after his team earnings alongside Stenson were also taken into account. At 49, the English veteran can hardly believe his good fortune and surely nobody should ask why he is playing LIV. 

Stenson’s timing was certainly priceless as he shot a 69 for an 11-under total to beat Americans Matthew Wolff and Dustin Johnson by two strokes. “I played like a captain,” Stenson said with a smirk.  

On Monday Luke Donald will be officially announced as Stenson’s replacement and the Englishman is sure to be asked about his statement, “I will not be doing a Henrik”. But “doing a Henrik” now surely has another layer of meaning. Would you go back on your word for close