By Kent Gray
There were lashings of the dry wit that make Henrik Stenson press conferences unmissable occasions on Tuesday before his Omega Dubai Desert Classic press conference went seriously off-piste.

The 42-year-old was at his poker-faced best when conversation inevitably turned to the European Tour’s Content Committee video which went viral at last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Stenson starred alongside Messrs Fleetwood, Bjorn, Pepperell and Westwood in the ditty where the quintet, “pretty tired of being asked to do these ridiculous ideas by all the media guys” take the tour’s social media content into their own hands and meet to thrash out their own viral video.

With more than 1.35 million views already, the spoof has been an ingenious success. Here’s a refresher if you missed it:

So, Henrik, can you talk about your work as a producer?

“Yeah, there’s been a lot of offers from Hollywood,” the 2016 Open champion deadpanned. “They are going to make a six-hour documentary about the Content Committee.”

“It was good fun,” Stenson continued. “Amazing what you can do with a good producer and a good editing when you have five bad actors and still make it into something that’s watchable. I think that’s amazing, so every credit to them.”

The Iceman was soon back in character after the bouquet for the European Tour’s inspired social media team. “I enjoyed watching some episodes of The Office, and I think we did a decent copycat.”

There was nothing David Brent about Stenson’s next answers, however, when he was quizzed on his own social media following – all 302,000 of them on Instagram, 270,000 in the Twittersphere and 135,000 more on Facebook.

“Yeah, in today’s world, it’s become a big part [of an athlete’s game]. At the same time, I think we’ve seen some negatives, as well. There’s a lot of people commenting on things left, right and center who are maybe not in the best mind-set when they do.”

Any examples?

“I put up a nice little picture in front of Augusta clubhouse after finishing fifth last year and there was one guy who immediately put out, ‘You’re celebrating a big failure. Well done.’ It was like – it wasn’t that bad. I worked pretty hard for it. Didn’t bring my best game but I had to work hard for it. He obviously finished in the top four.”

Stenson’s last line drew laughter from the gathered global media corps but didn’t mask the Swede’s serious message.

“It’s a tough balance, really. I’m here to play golf and do that, and we’ve got to try to get some things out there and also create interest for our sport and for the events we’re playing in and so on.

“I think that’s one thing [online trolls] that can put you off a little bit. I see in the news and in other instances, people put something out on their social media with good intentions but still end up with a lot of people giving negative feedback on it. If you’re a sensitive person, I think you can get pretty hurt by it.

“So yeah, it’s a bit of a tough one to balance I think in today’s world.”

Winning golf tournaments has become tougher in today’s world too as Stenson can attest. He’s gone winless since beating Phil Mickleson in the fabled “Battle of the Son’s” at Royal Troon two summers ago and opened 2019 with a rare missed cut in Abu Dhabi last week.

The weekend off was used wisely though. A session with Peter Cowen at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on Saturday before some decent practice at Emirates Golf Club on Sunday has Stenson chipper about his prospects at the 30th Desert Classic, an event he’s played 18 times, without fail since 2001, accumulating eight top 10s including his victory in 2007 along the way.

“After practicing here, 18 years, numerous other rounds, not just around the tournament…I don’t feel like I need to learn the golf course,” said Stenson who has a combined 15 titles on the European and PGA Tours. “It’s more about getting used to the conditions that we’ll see this week, and they aren’t going to be that different from last week. The bunkers are kind of the same and the rough, too.

“Yeah, just a little freshener tomorrow [in the Pro-Am] and we should be ready to go by Thursday.”

Stenson certainly believes he still has the game to win on the loftiest stages.

“I’d love to get the Claret Jug some company on the shelf. I feel like I’ve ticked most of the boxes and The Open was certainly the last box to tick, in a way. Then you start looking ahead and yeah, my focus last year and this year is going to be the same. It was to put myself in contention at major championships to try to give myself a chance to win a second one, and I did a half-decent job last year.

“I didn’t feel like I brought my best game, but did a lot of things right, both at Augusta and the U.S. Open, especially at the U.S. Open. That’s my focus this year, to try to get into those events in a similar way and hopefully bring a little bit more game and we can be there to challenge.

“We’re always going to be a Major Champion going forward. The challenge is if we can be a double Major Champion or triple Major Champion. That’s what we’re working on.”