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Dubai - Two-time DP World Tour Championship winner Henrik
Stenson has set his sights on winning a second European Tour Race to Dubai
crown, secure in the knowledge that he will become the world No 1 one day if he
keeps playing decent golf.
The current world No 4, who won the Open Championship this
year with a record-equalling four-day total of 20-under par, is four good
rounds away from securing his second European No 1 crown, following his efforts
in 2013 when he won the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour and the Race to Dubai on the
European Tour.
Asked how much he wanted to become the world No 1, Stenson
said on Wednesday: "I'll have some time to reflect and look ahead when the
season is over. Let's finish off this week first and then we will think of
world No 1.
"For me, the world rankings is a reflection on how well
you are playing over a period of time, and I was always more keen on winning a
major championship. I'll probably be more keen on winning a second major
championship than become world No 1 potentially. They kind of go hand-in-hand;
the better you play, the better your chances of becoming world No 1 is going to
be.
"I'll keep on chipping away, hopefully adding those
points and I think it will definitely be a big motivation if I feel like I'm
within reach of it."
Stenson is 299 675 points clear of England's Danny Willett
this week, which means any finish outside the top-five by the Masters champion
would favour the Swede.
The $8 million season-ending championship offers $1.33
million to the winner, and the Race to Dubai winner gets $1.25 million from the
bonus pool.
"I'm in a great position," Stenson added. "I
couldn't have asked for anything better. When I took off to China three weeks
ago I was hoping to make up some ground.
"I managed to have a great week in Shanghai and
finished second there to overtake Danny and managed to stay ahead, as well.
That's all I wanted to do.
"I wanted to be in a position where I had it in my own hands knowing that if I win here, that would seal the deal, and I'm in an even better position given that I don't necessarily need to win, even though that's kind of my mindset coming in here."
