RIO DE JANEIRO -- His golf clubs failed to arrive in Brazil when he did on Friday, so in a way, it is business as usual. Henrik Stenson has traveled around the world playing golf, and golf bags have a way showing up at odd times.
It was a bit disconcerting to not have the tools that helped Stenson win The Open three weeks ago and contend at the PGA Championship last week.
But the top-ranked golfer in the men's Olympic golf tournament nonetheless took part in the opening ceremony on Friday, then nervously awaited the arrival of his clubs on Saturday. And by Sunday afternoon, it was about finding his way around Rio and to the Olympic Golf Course, where full preparation begins Monday.
"I've been looking forward to playing in Rio for quite some time,'' said Stenson, 40, who is ranked fifth in the world. "There's different aspects to it; being part of the Olympic movement and seeing an Olympic Games from kind of the inside. I think it's going to be an experience of a lifetime for a sporting fan.
"And then of course if I can compete and compete well, if I make myself and my country happy, that would be something very special. I have a few nice trophies at home and it would be nice to hang an Olympic medal next to them. I think that would look kind of cool.''
There is no doubt that Stenson bought into the Olympic golf idea long ago and didn't waver when it became apparent there were issues with the schedule, along with possible health and security concerns.
Knowing it was going to be a hectic year from a schedule standpoint, Stenson made the decision to skip two World Golf Championship events: the WGC-Dell Match play, two weeks prior to the Masters; and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, which was two weeks prior to The Open.
Stenson elected to play the BMW International Open the week after the U.S. Open, and the plan paid off as he won for the first time worldwide in more than a year. Then after skipping the BMW -- as well as the European Tour's French Open -- Stenson used the Scottish Open to prepare for the following week at Royal Troon, where he shot a final-round 63 and set a major championship scoring record at 264.
Few would have blamed Stenson if he had elected to pass on the Olympics, with the FedEx Cup playoffs looming as well as the Ryder Cup and the European Tour's Race to Dubai.
But he was never much bothered by the Zika virus scare.
"I'm not afraid of mosquitoes; I'm more afraid of bears,'' he said.
Although the course designed specifically for the Olympics is home to plenty of wildlife, there had been no bear sightings to date.
"I've always been all in,'' Stenson said. "I'm in a different situation and it might be the only time when it's a competitive advantage to be 40-plus and done with the bambino thing. I've got three kids at home and I'm not looking to have any more. I might be in a different situation then, but the Zika virus is not a concern of mine and like I said, that's the one time when it's good to be 40-plus and done with the baby boom.''
Stenson was not alone in getting an early look at the course on Sunday. Fellow Swede David Lingmerth was also on site, as was American Rickie Fowler and Germany's Martin Kaymer, who played both days of the weekend.
A good number of players trickled in to get acclimated to the course, and perhaps that becomes an advantage for them.
"He desperately would like to win the gold,'' Stenson's long-time coach, Pete Cowen, said. "There's been a lot of negativity with golf in the Olympics, but you've got the guy who is the Usain Bolt of golf at the moment and he's going to the Olympics. That should be a massive positive. He definitely wants to win it.
"In Sweden, the Olympics are almost as important as a major. He'll probably get more kudos in Sweden for winning an Olympic gold than for The Open. He desperately wants to win it. And he's talked about winning it. Should be nice.''
Stenson is the highest-ranked player in the field because No. 1 Jason Day, No. 2 Dustin Johnson, No. 3 Jordan Spieth and No. 4 Jason Day all elected to withdraw from the Olympic tournament.
It is their loss, Stenson said, and many others including Justin Rose, Masters champion Danny Willett, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Bubba Watson and Fowler, to name a few, have been poised to make it a great experience.
"Like with any competition, five years down the line, you're not going to think about who wasn't there,'' Stenson said. "You're going to think about who won the medals and like any other tournament, whether it's a World Golf Championships or a big tournament somewhere, there's always going to be a few names not being there.
"But that's not what you focus on. And hopefully that's not what we are going to focus on with the Olympic Games, either: who didn't go. You're going to think about who went and won the medals.''