Henrik Stenson ready to play after case of flu

If the 2015 Masters Tour­nament were on the first day of April and not in the first full week, Henrik Stenson probably wouldn’t be in Augusta. But after being sick with the flu a week ago, Stenson on Tuesday sounded healthy and ready to go.

“The good thing is expectations are kind of out of the window,” he said. “I was playing nicely, but now I’m just happy to be here and to be able to peg it up on Thursday and make the best out of it.”

The world’s No. 2 player will tee off Thursday for his 10th Masters start. He has made the cut six times but has broken 70 only once in 30 rounds at Augusta.

Despite coming off the flu and not finishing better than a tie for 14th at the Masters last year, Stenson, 39, seemed loose.

He didn’t think he’d broken 70 even once. When he found out it has happened – a final-round 69 in 2013 – he jokingly said, “So obviously breaking 70 has not been an issue for me around here, so I hope to do that again.”

A European hasn’t won the Masters since 1999, when Jose Maria Olazabal won his second green jacket.

Stenson was in Augusta then, which he said was probably the only time he’s been to a major as a spectator. He had a Tuesday practice round ticket and remembered seeing Olazabal at the pitching green, where he nipped every ball perfectly and hit great bunker shots. Stenson said he told someone he thought Olazabal would have a good week.

Any regrets about not placing a bet?

“It was harder to place bets back then,” Stenson joked. “I actually had to set my alarm and call my mom in Swe­den to go to the bookie, and I ended up forgetting doing that.”

With the way he’s played lately, with three top-4 finishes this year already, Stenson could be the next European winner at Augusta National Golf Club, which would make him Sweden’s first major winner.

“There’s been a couple of close calls obviously, and I’m sure we’ll see European winners here as well in the near future,” he said.