Henrik Stenson stops to realize he's having fun, and his best season yet

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Henrik Stenson has been so busy contending in big tournaments that he never stopped to realize what kind of season he was having. 

Only when he was doing an interview last week with Swedish radio did it hit him. 

"Yeah, it probably is my best season," Stenson said Tuesday. 

He won a World Golf Championship in 2007 and moved to No. 5 in the world, but Stenson didn't really do much the rest of the year. He won The Players Championship, possibly his biggest win, yet didn't really feature much the rest of the way. 

His only win this year was the Deutsche Bank Championship, but it's what preceded it that has put the Swede at No. 6 in the world. 

He tied for third at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open and was runner-up in the British Open. He tied for second in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational (by seven shots to Tiger Woods) and tied for third in the PGA Championship. 

Stenson also tied for second in the Shell Houston Open, which put him into the Masters and was a turning point in his season. 

"From there on it's just kind of been heading more and more in the right direction," he said. "Unbelievable summer. And I guess if I stopped now – looking at the results and the tournaments where I've had those good results – it's the best season of my career so far."