Stenson gets the vote in August

Henrik Stenson has been named The Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Month for August following a phenomenal sequence of results with which he climbed to Number One on The 2013 Race to Dubai and Number Six in the Official World Golf Ranking. Stenson, who receives an engraved alms dish and a Jeroboam of Moët & Chandon champagne, laid the foundation to leading The 2013 Race to Dubai ahead of Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose by finishing tied third in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open and runner-up in The 142^nd Open Championship before launching August by being tied second in the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational. Then the 37-year-old Swede claimed third place in the US PGA Championship at Oak Hill before compiling rounds of 67, 63, 66 and 66 for a 22 under par winning total of 262 in the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston. Stenson, who won the European Challenge Tour Rankings in 2000 before launching his career on The European Tour on which he has captured seven titles, said: “I think mentally I've been as good as I've ever been throughout this summer and that started in my preparations for the US Open. “You've got to be able to take the hits there and keep on going and I did that pretty good that week. But I knew I could be better. I’ve jumped up a notch in that department and just kept at it all summer. That’s the big reason why I've been able to have so many good weeks in big tournaments. “I’m delighted this has been recognised by the golfing media with this award.” The Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Year Panel, comprising members of the Association of Golf Writers as well as commentators from television and radio, also considered the achievements of England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who gained his maiden win in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, and France’s Grégory Bourdy, who captured the ISPS Handa Wales Open, on The 2013 European Tour International Schedule. Derek Lawrenson, Golf Correspondent of the Daily Mail, said: “How good to see Tommy Fleetwood break through at the Johnnie Walker Championship and claim his first win while Grégory Bourdy’s stunning finish to win the ISPS Handa Wales Open will linger in the memory. Henrik Stenson, though, has arguably been the golfer of the summer and so is a thoroughly deserving European Tour Golfer of the Month for August. His stirring recovery from the depths of 230^th in the World Ranking after missing the cut in the 2012 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters is an example to all.” Stenson will now be considered – along with previous winners Chris Wood (January), Darren Fichardt (February), Marcel Siem (March), Raphaël Jacquelin (April), Matteo Manassero (May), Justin Rose (June) and Graeme McDowell (July) – for The 2013 Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Year Award, and all will be seeking to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner, Rory McIlroy.