Henrik Stenson has experienced many highs, but also many lows, in a career that has undoubtedly left him ranked as Sweden's greatest male golfer.
He emerged from the second tier Challenge Tour early in the 21st century and wasted little time landing a first win, at the 2001 Benson and Hedges International, but he lost form soon after and it was not until over five years later that he proved himself a world class performer.
He did that by first becoming a regular winner on the European Tour, then adding success at World Golf Championship level before landing the prestigious PLAYERS Championship in 2009.
The 2013 season was a special one for Stenson as he landed victory in both the PGA and European Tours season-ending events and, with it, closed the year winner of both Tour's rankings.
Henrik Stenson's 3-wood into 18 in 2013...
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) December 8, 2020
It never gets old 👏#DPWTC #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/993UOn3u2W
Three years later he became the first Swedish winner of a men's Major Championship following a sensational head-to-head tussle with Phil Mickelson in the Open at Royal Troon.
A five-time Ryder Cup player, he tasted victory on three occasions and in early 2022 it was announced that he would be the European captain at the 2023 match in Rome.
Popular around the world, he is also well-known for a notably dry sense of humour.
Amateur years
Stenson took up the game as a 12-year-old and plays the game right-handed despite being naturally left-handed.
He represented his nation as an amateur but was not a standout performer in the unpaid ranks. His highest achievement was victory in the 1996 Italian Amateur Match Play.
Turning professional
After joining the paid ranks in late 1998 Stenson initially played on the Challenge Tour and, in his first full season at that level, he won three times, including the season-ending Grand Final to confirm promotion to the European Tour.
In May of that rookie campaign he travelled to The Belfry and claimed a breakthrough victory.
With his easy yet powerful swing, and natural charm, he seemed set to become a star of European golf and yet it didn't prove that straightforward.
He finished eighth the week afterwards, but would land just two more top 10s in the next 36 months.
In late 2004 he returned to form with second in the Scandinavian Masters and victory in The Heritage at Woburn.
It had been a longer wait than expected, but he had turned a corner.
Rising to world class
There was no win to follow in 2005, but seven top three finishes left him in the top 10 of the end-of-season rankings.
He then won twice in both 2006 and 2007, the last of that quartet coming in the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship.
Two years later he confirmed that he was now a world class performer with triumph in THE PLAYER Championships, the PGA Tour's flagship event sometimes known as the "fifth major".
There then followed another dip in form.
After finishing third in the 2010 Open he landed only two top 10s in the next 24 months.
The second wave
Victory in the South African Open, late in 2012, offered hope of a return to form and he proved it in absolutely sensational style.
In 2013 he finished fifth in THE PLAYERS, top 25 in all four Majors (top three in two of them) and won three times, including the PGA Tour's end-of-year Tour Championship and the European Tour's end-of-season DP World Tour Championship (which he successfully defended in 2014).
With all that success he comfortably ended the year top of the rankings both sides of the Atlantic: the FedExCup champion stateside and Race to Dubai winner in Europe.
In the Majors
Ahead of the 2016 Open at Royal Troon Stenson had finished top three five times in the Majors (and three times in the Open itself).
He had also just completed victory in the BMW International Open.
He was in good form and well-suited for linksland, but few expected what happened next.
Heading into the final round he held a one shot lead over Phil Mickelson, but was six blows clear of the rest of the field after rounds of 68-65-68.
On Sunday the two leaders exchanged birdies in a dazzling display of golf. Stenson's 63 equalled Johnny Miller's score as the best to complete a Major triumph and his final tally of 264 was a record low winning score in Majors.
He lifted the Claret Jug after finishing three strokes clear of Mickelson and a massive 14 in front of third placed JB Holmes.
In the Ryder Cup
On debut in 2006 at The K Club in Ireland he won one, lost one and halved one match as Europe won.
He won three of four points in the victory at Gleneagles in 2014 and all three of his matches in the Paris triumph of 2018.
Undefeated on home soil, he suffered defeats in America in 2008 and 2016. He has an overall record of 10-7-2.
He will captain Europe in 2023 at Marco Simone GC in Rome.
He also won the World Cup with Sweden in 2008.
Stenson's personal life
He married his wife Emma, a fellow Swede, after meeting her at the University of North Carolina. They have three children - Lisa, Carl and Alice.
Stenson's net worth
His net worth has been badly impacted by an investment made with the jailed banker Allen Stanford.
It was reported that he lost as much as $8million and it was said to have driven the second loss of form he suffered.
Numerous sites report his net worth at around $25million.