Henrik Stenson has insisted that he is just happy to be in Augusta after struggling with illness ahead of The Masters.

Three successive top-five finishes on the PGA Tour were followed by a bout of flu which forced the Swede to miss last week's Houston Open, and he believes that a frustrating build-up has taken the pressure off his shoulders.

"My game was in good shape and had a bit of a spring break with the family and then got the flu," Stenson told reporters. "I'm getting better, slowly but surely. I was pretty much down and out there for four days.

"I'm just trying to conserve a bit of energy as the week progresses and hopefully have some left on the weekend when you need it the most and want it the most.

"The good thing is expectations are kind of out of the window. I was playing nicely, but now I'm just happy to be here and to be able to peg it up on Thursday and make the best out of it."

Stenson's best finish at Augusta came last year with a tie for 14th place.