Stenson “honoured” by lifetime European Tour membership
Henrik Stenson has become the latest player to join the exclusive group of Honorary Life Members of the European Tour.
Stenson is the 51st player – and the first from Sweden – to receive the accolade, in recognition of his maiden Major Championship win at the The 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon.
The current Race to Dubai leader was presented with the award by Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, ahead of the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, where he is in pole position to end the season as the European Tour’s Number One.
The first Honorary Life Member of the European Tour was its Founding Father, John Jacobs OBE, the Tour’s first Executive Director. He was later joined by golf luminaries such as Seve Ballesteros, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.
Danny Willett became the 50th member of the club earlier this year in recognition of his triumph at the Masters Tournament and Stenson now follows him after becoming the second European Tour member to win a Major Championship in 2016.
Stenson, who broke a plethora of long-standing records during his three-shot win in Troon, went toe-to-toe with five-time Major winner Phil Mickelson in a thrilling final day duel. The Swede carded a 63 to equal the lowest round in Major history, while his 264 aggregate score was also the lowest in a Major Championship.
Stenson has enjoyed a stellar year, winning the BMW International Open in June and following up his triumph at The Open with a silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. A tied second-place finish at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai last month was enough to propel him to the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings heading into the final week.
“It is a great honour to join the exclusive club of people who have been awarded Honorary Life Membership of The European Tour,” he said. “That’s definitely a special thing and something I will dearly cherish.”
Keith Pelley said: “It is a true privilege to present Henrik with his Honorary Life Membership of The European Tour. Obviously the epic battle and his legendary win in The Open Championship at Troon versus Phil Mickelson is the catalyst for this.
“But Henrik is a special member of our Tour both on and off the golf course. What he gives to our Tour is incredible, his contribution to the Tournament Committee, and how he interacts with all the players. I call him often to get advice, but today it’s about celebrating his greatness on the golf course, and there was no greater afternoon than watching that Sunday at Troon.”
Lifetime European Tour membership list
1978 John Jacobs OBE
1978 Bernard Hunt MBE
1978 Dai Rees CBE
1982 Peter Butler
1983 Seve Ballesteros
1983 Tony Jacklin CBE
1985 Sir Henry Cotton MBE
1985 Fred Daly MBE
1985 Max Faulkner OBE
1985 Bernhard Langer
1985 Sandy Lyle MBE
1987 Sir Nick Faldo MBE
1992 Ian Woosnam OBE
1994 José María Olazábal
1995 Bob Charles
1995 Arnold Palmer
1995 Gary Player
1997 Colin Montgomerie OBE
1998 Ernie Els
1999 Paul Lawrie OBE
1999 Greg Norman
2001 Vijay Singh
2002 Retief Goosen
2003 Peter Alliss
2003 Bernard Gallacher OBE
2004 Neil Coles MBE
2004 Christy O’Connor
2004 John Panton
2005 Michael Campbell
2007 Angel Cabrera
2007 Padraig Harrington
2008 Trevor Immelman
2010 Martin Kaymer
2010 Graeme McDowell MBE
2010 Louis Oosthuizen
2010 Tom Watson
2011 Darren Clarke OBE
2011 Rory McIlroy MBE
2011 Charl Schwartzel
2011 Lee Westwood OBE
2012 Luke Donald MBE
2012 Brian Huggett MBE
2012 Tommy Horton MBE
2012 Mark James
2012 Roger Chapman
2013 Dave Thomas
2013 Justin Rose
2014 Jack Nicklaus
2016 Peter Oosterhuis
2016 Danny Willett
2016 Henrik Stenson
Tom Irwin
Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.
