He's not the straightest, he's not the longest, he's not the best putter or par-saving bunker specialist, he doesn't hit greens in regulation numbers as often as some.

What he is, however, is one of the bravest, one of the strongest in that vital area between left and right ears, one of the calmest and one of the most steadfast under pressure. He's Henrik Stenson and pay heed, because he's pretty special.

Stenson, who won the Commercialbank Qatar Masters at a windswept Doha Golf Club on Sunday, is Swedish. Well, having heard of his strengths, which should come as no great surprise to anybody who knows the national characteristics of this great Scandinavian nation.

True, some of their professional golfers, thank heavens. have a wild and wonderful streak of eccentricity coursing through their veins -- think Jesper Parnevik, think Jarmo Sandelin, think Joakim Haeggman -- but the trait that is alive and well in most of the rest is the manifestation of a sort of inner peace. They are a controlled race, the Swedes, and Stenson is the uber-perfect personification of Swedish cool.

His three-stroke triumph in Qatar, much as it depended on the mechanics of his golf, owed almost as much to his mental attitude, which might have been plucked from the freezer compartment of the locker-room refrigerator.

This victory meant a lot more to him than the mere acquisition of a small mountain of purchasing power. At the end of the day, money is, after all, transient. Once spent, it's gone forever.

Henrik Stenson won the 2006 Commercialbank Qatar Masters. (Inglis/WireImage)

So however pleased he was that he had tucked a check for something over $320,000 in his billfold, the fact that he had moved into second place in the European Tour order of merit behind David Howell would have given him great heart as he traveled back to Sharjah in the nearby United Arab Emirates, where he makes his home these days.

If for no other reason, it virtually guaranteed that he will make his first appearance in Europe's team for the Ryder Cup at the K Club in the Republic of Ireland in September. His triumph in Qatar was his third on the European Tour International Schedule but was immeasurably the most significant.

Stenson has been a pretty good player for some years in local (that is to say, European) terms. But he would also be the first to admit that he has been a late developer who as recently as 2002 finished 176th in the money list. He didn't lose his card because the previous year he had won the prestigious Benson and Hedges International Open at The Belfry, scene of so many titanic Ryder Cup matches in its distinguished history.

But still and all, that hangover from a great year that preceded it showed that he had much to learn. Last year he was eighth in the final money list but it is only now, finally and with his 30th birthday coming up at the beginning of April, that he has revealed himself to be tantalizingly close to being the finished article.

It is, be assured, not going to take much more improvement before he completes the job. You don't have to take our word for it. Just listen to the man who finished second in Qatar.

Paul Broadhurst has been around the block a few times and knows what goes to make up a seriously good golfer. He's one himself, after all, a man who is in the middle of a glorious renaissance at the age of 40. This is a wise man, so when he speaks about these things, attention should be paid.

We quote: "He's the next special one from Europe. He's got a lot of chances of winning majors and stuff. He's next in line, I think." You don't get much more unalloyed praise in a few words than that -- and it's worth remembering that Broadhurst himself was raised in a hard school and doesn't dish out compliments if they're not deserved.

Indeed, the way Broadhurst has been playing in the last couple of years, it is more than just possible that he will be in Ian Woosnam's team himself come this fall. He wouldn't want a lame duck to be at his side when the hammer drops, so if he says good things about one of his peers, it's as well to take his thoughts on board.

And he did say good things and, just as importantly, he volunteered them rather than responding to a pressman's question. It said good things about Broadhurst, of course, but then he has always been the most modest and generous of men.

But even more, it spoke volumes for the way this unassuming Swede has come to be regarded by his fellow professionals. They know he's good. Very good. Perhaps the next few months will tell us just how good he is.