Henrik Stenson fired a two-under-par 68 on Friday to pad his lead at the US$8.25 million Tour Championship to three shots over a charging Jordan Spieth.
Stenson, owner of a two-stroke lead after his first-round 63, was pleased with his effort on a rain-soaked East Lake course that yielded few low scores.
His nine-under-par total of 131 put him three clear of Masters and US Open champion Spieth, whose bogey-free four-under 66 was the round of the day and put him at six-under 134 through 36 holes of the US PGA Tour finale.
Photo: AFP
“Today was a difficult day, it was a difficult golf course for sure,” Stenson said. “It played much, much longer... I saw Jordan shot 66 — which was a great round.”
After a steady seven pars to open his round, Spieth warmed up with back-to-back birdies at the eighth and ninth.
After a birdie at the par-five 15th, the 22-year-old American capped his round with a birdie at the par-three 18th — where he drained a 20-footer.
England’s Paul Casey was alone in third despite a bogey at the last that gave him a 70 for 135.
British Open champion Zach Johnson completed a roller-coaster of a 70 that included a double-bogey and four bogeys, as well as six birdies for 136.
He was one stroke in front of world No. 2 Rory McIlroy (71) and Australian Steven Bowditch (69).
? EUROPEAN OPEN
Reuters, BERLIN
Britain’s Ross Fisher, looking to win the European Open for the second time, shared the lead with compatriot Graeme Storm and South African Charl Schwartzel after the second round in Germany on Friday.
Former Ryder Cup player Fisher, who captured the title at the London Club in 2008 in the penultimate staging of the event before it dropped off the schedule for six years, shot a six-under-par 65 for a 10-under aggregate of 132.
Former US Masters champion Schwartzel signed for a bogey-free 66 while Storm chipped in for an eagle three at the 10th on the way to a 67.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
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