Henrik Stenson was forced to find a new outfit for his second round at Royal Birkdale

Henrik Stenson has revealed the house he is staying in during The Open was burgled on Thursday.

The defending champion is renting a property in Formby for the duration of the tournament and it was broken into as he played his first round at nearby Royal Birkdale.

Stenson carded a one-under-par 69 in the opening round and tried to remain focused on his golf as he shot a three-over 73 in the second round despite having some valuable personal items taken, as well as his clothing for the week.

After completing his second round, the 41-year-old Swede was asked how he felt and replied: "I think it was anger from the word go.

"I was also happy that my family wasn't there - and maybe a little disappointed I wasn't! I'll be out there looking [for those responsible] tonight.

"It was kind of surreal and to find out that my suitcase and all my clothes were gone was a bit weird.

Stenson's rental property was burgled on Thursday

"I still had some dirty laundry in another bag so I managed to wash some of that up and (Hugo) Boss provided some other stuff.

"Actually they missed my carry-on [case] so they didn't get the full jackpot but they got obviously a lot of valuables, watches and other things.

"They were clearly targeting me because they were there when I was out playing and they stole all my gear - normally I don't think burglars would take clothes.

"All my gear is gone so if you see people 'Bossed up' in this way [pointing at his sponsored shirt] feel free to ask what they were doing between 12 and 4pm yesterday."

Stenson insisted the incident did not affect him too much during the second round as he ended the day seven shots behind leader Jordan Spieth.

"Yesterday I wasn't looking forward to having four hours of semi-chaos and police running around the house and having to go out," he added.

"I would rather just go back and wind down and take it easy and that was all I was looking forward to and that didn't happen.

"I've been quite lucky with those kind of situations so I guess sooner or later there's always a chance it might happen and unfortunately it did. I think it will make me a little bit cautious of a few things going forward."

Stenson returned the Claret Jug earlier in the week

Merseyside Police has launched an investigation after cash, cards, electrical items, clothes and watches were reported stolen and CCTV, house-to-house and forensic enquiries are being carried out.

"We are determined to identify those responsible and as with every burglary victim, we are carrying out a thorough investigation, offering reassurance and crime prevention advice," said Detective Inspector Simon Vaughan.

"The Hugo Boss clothing taken is very personal to the victim and can be identified by a distinctive NetJets sponsorship logo, so if anyone is offered such clothing, please contact us immediately.

"If you saw anyone acting suspiciously in the Freshfield Road area between these times, please call us. Any small detail could be vital to the investigation."

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously and for free on 0800 555 111 or via their online form: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information-online.