Henrik Stenson is keen to continue his march towards the top of the Official World Golf Ranking with a strong display at this week’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
The Swede sits at a career-high position of World Number Three after an incredible run of form in 2013 that yielded both the FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai titles.
A missed cut in Abu Dhabi may not have been the ideal start to 2014, but Stenson believes that may have helped shake off some rust from the winter break.
“I think I'm in a position in the World Rankings that if I really keep on playing well, I will have a chance to possibly, first, overtake Adam [Scott] and then maybe challenge Tiger [Woods] for the Number One spot,” he said.
“One part is down to what I do. If I can keep my form going and playing good golf, and it's those elements that we can't control what the other guys are doing, and there might even be somebody from behind going on a really hot streak and overtaking everybody.
“But the chance is obviously there and it would be a nice thing to have on the CV when we put the clubs in the closet one day, that we've held the Number One spot at some time, and if that doesn't happen, I would be happy to go for Number Two as of now.
“It's always nice to move your personal best and move your positions in the right direction, but I'm trying to focus on my stuff and then we'll see how far it takes us.”
Stenson won at Doha Golf Club in 2006 and also has three runner-up finishes at the venue, a record he would like to extend.
“It's been a good hunting ground for me, and it feels like I'm slowly waking up here after the winter break,” he added. “Last week was not quite what we wanted, but we had limited preparations and it feels like I'm starting to hit the ball a bit better. Hopefully I can play a bit better this week.
“It feels like the game's heading in the right direction for sure. It was a bit rusty last week, and I'd say today was as good as I've hit it this side of Christmas, anyway.
“I'm looking forward to the week. I'm sure it's going to be fairly similar to what we had here in previous years with a bit of wind, and I think the course is in as good of condition as we've seen it.
“The trick is always to keep the ball below the hole on these greens, because downhill, downwind and down grain, they are lightning and uphill you can be aggressive.
“So it's all about placing your approaches on the right side of the pin and from there you can be a bit aggressive from the putter. So good striking is never going to be a bad thing around here either.
“I've done great here at these three events in the past, so it would be nice to add something to that.”
