( CNN ) -- Swedish golfer Henrik Stenson carded a solid 69 in the opening round of the WGC-CA Championship but it was his highly unusual recovery shot on the 12th on the Blue Monster course at Doral which raised more than a few eyebrows . Stenson did not leave much to the imagination with his Doral antics . Stenson stripped down to the bare essentials -- a pair of white boxer shorts -- before wading into the mud to hack out his ball after an wayward tee shot . The watching galleries could hardly believe their eyes as the tall Swede peeled off his clothes . `` Shirt , trousers , socks , shoes , hat , the lot was off , '' he told the Press Association . `` Because of the mud I could n't really afford to play in any of my clothes as they would have been a real mess down the last six or so holes so I had no option , '' Stenson explained . After getting the ball back on to the fairway , Stenson eventually made a one-over par bogey on the hole when he could have dropped at least two shots by taking a drop . `` If you are saving a shot , that has to be worth taking your shirt and trousers , '' he added . What do you think of Stenson 's cheeky recovery shot ? The incident proved the main talking point on the day that Tiger Woods made his return to strokeplay golf and 32-year-old Stenson jokingly said it might offer a new avenue for sponsorships . `` Absolutely , you never know , after this I might have a new endorsement with PlayGirl or something like that . '' European Ryder Cup star Stenson is playing for the $ 1.4 million first prize in the tournament in Florida which has an elite 81-strong field . His recovery shot evoked memories of the last-hole drama at the 1999 British Open at Carnoustie when tournament leader Jean Van de Velde waded into the Barry Burn after taking off his shoes and socks . The Frenchman at least spared the blushes of the crowds by keeping on his clothes but he made a hash of hole and lost his chance of winning the famous major .
Henrik Stenson creates a stir with ' striptease ' at top level in Florida . Swedish star comes down to the bare bones to pull his ball out of the mud . Tactic ##s as he wins at least a set and cards a 2 - under 69 .