TROON, Scotland _ Ladies and gentleman, your men's Olympic golf gold medalist ...
Henrik Stenson.
Don't laugh. It could happen. In fact, with each passing player who decided not to go to Rio in August to compete in the Olympics, Stenson's chances got stronger and stronger.
As the sixth-ranking player in the world, the 40-year-old Swede has only one other participating player ahead of him, No. 5 Bubba Watson. Stenson is enormously accomplished, with 10 European Tour victories and four wins on the PGA Tour. And he's as gung-ho about the Olympics as any top player.
He may not win a major in his career, but hanging a gold medal on his neck would be pretty sweet.
"It would be big outside the golfing community," Stenson said. "It would be to the broader sports crowd and to the whole country. So of course it would be massive. But let's focus on one thing at a time."
Always dry in manner and humor, Stenson currently is focused on the British Open, where he enters Saturday's third round just one shot behind leader Phil Mickelson after notching the second round's best score, a 6-under-par 65.
Stenson has come close to winning majors numerous times. He has seven top-5 finishes, including his closest call in the British Open _ a 2013 runner-up at Muirfield, where he lost by three shots to Mickelson, who closed with a 66.
In 2014, Stenson tied for fourth in the U.S. Open and third in the PGA Championship, but in the last six majors he hasn't been a factor.
"I just wanted to turn things around because I know, like I said, I'm 40," he said. "I'm not going to play these tournaments forever and ever. I don't have another 50 goes at them. It might be a dozen or 15 in total.
"So I better start putting myself in position and giving myself chances if I want to make it happen. After six tournaments not being there, it's certainly time to get going."
Stenson has never wavered on his commitment to playing in the Olympics. In fact, a Swedish documentary crew has been following him and his wife, Anna, for four years in the buildup.
"Of course, there's been a few guys not entered and, yeah, potentially it's going to make it a little bit easier for the medal fights," Stenson said. "But it's still a strong field at the top and you've got to play some good golf if you want to walk home with one of those."
Did he ever have any concerns about the Zika virus?
"No," he said. "For once it's a competitive advantage to be 40 and not looking to have any more kids."
