Henrik Stenson on Celtic love as he explains move to ‘p*** off’ a Rangers fan

Henrik Stenson has admitted to being a Celtic fan – but conceded he may have orignally backed the Hoops just to “p*** off” a Rangers supporter.

The Major winner opened up on his footballing love affair in a wide-ranging interview with Golf Australia as he reflected on his record Open Championship win at Royal Troon, as well as his alternative career ambitions to make it as a midfielder. The LIV Golf star was put on the spot about his affinity for the game by interviewer Jack Martin – and how he ended up a follower of Brendan Rodgers’ side.

He also conceded to being a fan of Liverpool – but reckons it was Henrik Larsson that got him into the game in Glasgow’s east end. Stenson said: “When I was really young I used to watch the English matches on TV in Sweden. I was a Liverpool fan because of the Swedish defender Glenn Hysen.

“But Henrik Larsson, one of our best-ever players, ended up at Celtic, so that got me interested in them. However, I might have just said I support them to p*** off a Rangers fan.”

It’s not the first time that the Swedish powerhouse has channelled this wind-up spirit, as he also used a promo interview for a Callaway@Rangers golf event in 2016 to go on the chain-yanking offensive. The event, held in the week leading up to Stenson’s remarkable victory in Ayrshire, saw a number of top Callaway golfers paired up with Rangers players and staff in a series of golf and football challenges, including a chipping contest from the stands at Ibrox into the centre circle, as well as a penalty shoot-out against Robby McCrorie.

In a quick-fire questions segment for a promotional programme the Gothenburg-born golfer said he supports Celtic, his favourite player was Henrik Larsson and that if he hadn’t have been a golfer he would be a “Celtic player for sure!”.