HOYLAKE, England — Hours before Brian Harman won the 151st British Open amidst a steady, soaking rain late Sunday afternoon at Royal Liverpool, the 2016 winner of the claret jug was finishing up a pretty respectable week at 3-under par to finish in a tie for 13th.
There was no fanfare around Henrik Stenson when he walked off 18, signed his card and quietly departed the grounds.
The affable 47-year-old Swede seems like more of an outsider these days than a celebrated former Open champion who overtook Phil Mickelson in an epic final-round duel that inspired Jack Nicklaus to write him a letter of admiration after watching it.
Stenson should be preparing for the Ryder Cup as the European captain with the biennial competition a mere two-plus months away in Rome. But it’s been a year ago this week that the European Tour and Ryder Cup Europe stripped Stenson of his captaincy when he announced he was joining LIV Golf.
He’s been persona non grata since Ryder Cup Europe officials undressed him in public, denouncing his decision to join LIV and replaced him with Luke Donald.
In an exclusive conversation with The Post, Stenson was melancholy over how the Ryder Cup captaincy experience ended, because he insisted he not only would have been able to fulfill his obligations as a captain while still playing LIV but that no one from the DP World Tour or Ryder Cup Europe would agree to sit down with him and talk.
“I’m just disappointed that with everything that came out, because there was a big willingness on my part to sit down and talk long before this thing got to where it got to,’’ Stenson said. “That’s my disappointment — that there were certain people, without naming names, that didn’t want to sit down and take those meetings.
“And, as a consequence, I feel like we ended up in all of this that could have been avoided. But we live and we learn.’’
What makes Stenson’s situation particularly awkward is that since all the of anti-LIV acrimony that made him arguably the biggest victim of the backlash against the Saudi-backed tour, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV have all jumped into bed together in an alliance that’s been vaguely termed “a framework agreement.’’
Yet, despite the sides all having agreed to coexist, Stenson remains in the same place he’s been for a year — hung out to dry, publicly stripped of captaincy duties he cherished taking on as a five-time Ryder Cup player.
“A lot of these decisions are not on my plate,’’ Stenson said of the alliance that was announced June 6. “We’ll see where it ends up — from Ryder Cup to memberships on DP World Tour and PGA Tour and all the rest of it. I’m just sitting tight right now.’’
He’s sitting tight on the outside looking in as the excitement for the Ryder Cup builds —without his involvement.
Stenson conceded that being stripped of his captaincy last year “was difficult times, not fun times, but that was out of my hands.’’
“I knew I could have fulfilled my obligations as captain, but clearly the DP World Tour and Ryder Cup Europe didn’t see it that way, and that’s why they made that decision,’’ he went on. “I’ll look forward and not backward.’’
Asked what his emotions will be come late September when the Ryder Cup begins, Stenson said, “I’ve played in five Ryder Cups and was vice captain in one and there’s always going to be some great memories from the camaraderie, and some of those camaraderies are still there.
“I’m not alone in this; the guys that I would have had as my vice captains, we kind of all ended up in the same boat,’’ Stenson continued, referring to Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia, all of whom also went to LIV Golf and were shunned by the DP World Tour.
Stenson will surely have pangs of what might have been when the Ryder Cup arrives in late September.
Even though he’s not revered as much as many believe he should be because of the Ryder Cup stain, when Stenson turns up to play the British Opens, he’ll always have 2016 and that final-round 63 that did the job.
“I hear about that round quite often with fans who say it was the best round of golf they’ve ever seen,’’ Stenson said. “I got a handwritten note from Jack that said, ‘Tom [Watson] and I played well against each other at Turnberry [the famous 1977 ‘Duel in the sun’], but you guys played better.’ That was pretty flattering. I have that in the trophy cabinet at home.’’
That’ll have to do in September when, from afar, Stenson is watching the European Ryder Cup he was supposed to captain.