World No 16

Matchlekmästare - remember the word. It is Swedish for “matchplay champion”, a phrase that Henrik Stenson was keen to use in February when he won the WGC-Accenture Match Play in Arizona, beating Geoff Ogilvy 2 and 1 in the final.

He became only the second European to win the event, after Darren Clarke in 2000, and perhaps Stenson has as good a claim as anyone at Wentworth this week to say that he is a matchplay specialist, having holed the putt that won the 2006 Ryder Cup.

“It wasn’t much of a deal,” he said modestly of his putt at the K Club, near Dublin. “We would have won the Ryder Cup with our without my putt.”

That win in Arizona had some astonishing side-effects. It took Stenson to No 5 in the world, the top of the European Order of Merit and won him $1.35 million (about £700,000) in prize-money. “My feet are aching, my head is aching, my wallet is aching,” he said after the win. He may be able to use the experience of playing 36 holes in that final this week at the World Match Play.

It was his second win of the month after holding off Tiger Woods and Ernie Els to capture the Dubai Desert Classic - a tournament away from home for the Swede, whose family is based in Dubai - but Stenson has had a lull ever since. His best finish was eighth in the BMW PGA Championship in May. Perhaps the fact that the event was played at Wentworth will inspire him again.

Stenson’s class first became apparent in 2000, when he topped the European Challenge Tour rankings, but his game fell apart in 2002 when he dropped to 176th in the Order of Merit with a best finish of equal 31st. His swing technique disappeared completely and he had to seek support from his coach and psychologist to rebuild his game. That he can now laugh about the career-threatening effects of his lost game says much about Stenson’s character.

“When your caddie is rattling in the pocket to see if he’s got a provisional ball when you’re standing over the drive, you know you’ve got some sort of a problem,” he said.

Stenson’s fun-loving approach to his game is not necessarily shared by his more staid compatriots and it has won him supporters around the world. He has his sister, Ulrika, to thank for him taking up the game. She tried it first but got bored and moved to horse riding instead, leaving Stenson to keep his father company on the fairways.

Factfile

Age: 31 Nationality: Swedish Wins: 9 Major title wins: 0 Major record in 2007: Masters: equal 17th; US Open: missed cut; Open: missed cut; US PGA: missed cut How he qualified for World Match Play: First on Order of Merit not already qualified Previous WMP experience: None