Rory McIlroy salutes Henrik Stenson following victory in The Open
By Mike Patterson
Last Updated: 19/07/16 9:28am
Rory McIlroy has said Henrik Stenson's Open success is "really well deserved" as the Swede's rivals continue to pay tribute to him following his victory at Royal Troon on Sunday.
Stenson has earned plenty of plaudits since emerging victorious from his duel with Phil Mickelson in The 145th Open and McIlroy was delighted to see the 40-year-old win his first major.
McIlroy, the 2014 Open winner, said: "It was such a popular win because we know how hard he works and some of the battles that he has had to go through in his career.
"So to come out the other end and get that major is really well deserved."
World No 11 Justin Rose added: "It's so great to see him win. We have obviously given him plenty of banter over the last couple of years for not being a major champion…. so Henrik couldn't be more deserving.
"He works hard, he's a great professional, he's disciplined, he's got a great sense of humour and no one can begrudge him of that major title."
Zach Johnson made a solid defence of The Open title as he finished in a tie for 12th place and he was happy to hand the Claret Jug on to Stenson.
"Great would be one adjective. I would say absolutely dominant and phenomenal," the American said of the Swede's performance.
"I'm not that surprised in the sense that Henrik has that ability - he hits it so straight, so good. That Claret Jug is a fun trophy to have so I am excited for Henrik and his family. A very worthy champion!"
