The European Tour would have been no place for Tom Watson this week - the SAS Masters in Sweden is being played on the longest course in the circuit's history.

While Watson competes in the Senior Open over a Sunningdale Old lay-out measuring 6,616 yards Barseback near Malmo is more than 1,000 yards longer.

The previous record holder was Torrey Pines, 7,643 yards for last year's US Open. This is 7,665 yards, with only one par four under 400 yards and the shortest of the par fives being 547 yards.

World number seven Henrik Stenson heads the field and the 33-year-old will be a strong favourite playing at home after finishing only four behind Watson and Stewart Cink at Turnberry.

On a tightly-bunched leaderboard that put Stenson joint 13th, but it might have been a very different story had he not ended his third round with a double bogey six he thought was rough justice.

Winner of the Players Championship in Florida in May, Stenson complained that the crowd and metal fencing were far too close to the landing area on the 18th.

Level par at the time - Watson and Cink played off on two under - he said: "I was trying to hit a long iron down the right-hand side, but blocked it a bit right and hit a guy in the head.

"Without the crowd and the fencing I would have been another 60 yards up in the semi and would have had a fairly easy shot to get on the green."

It was his only double bogey of the week and he was unable to make up the deficit on the final day.

Compatriot Peter Hanson, joint 24th on Sunday, is this week's defending champion, although it was in Stockholm that he took the title last August.