Henrik Stenson fired a six-under 64 to grab the lead at the Tour Championship in an opening round in which world No. 1 Tiger Woods finished a disappointing second to last.
Sweden’s Stenson, who played in the final group with Woods, birdied the last hole on Thursday in a round that included seven birdies and one bogey at the East Lake Golf Club.
Stenson started quickly with five birdies in a six-hole stretch from the second to grab the lead in the final tournament of the PGA Tour’s playoff series.
Photo: EPA
His hot streak consisted of just two putts from outside five feet as he stuck the majority of his iron shots close to the pin.
“That stretch between one and seven I guess is as good as I’ve ever hit it in a round of golf,” said Stenson, who tied his career low nine-hole score with a 30.
Stenson, who won the Deutsche Bank Championship earlier this month, can capture the FedEx Cup if he can hang on to his lead for the rest of the tournament.
Stenson’s playing partner Woods was the only golfer not to post a birdie in the first round. The American struggled to a three-over 73 which put him 29th out of 30 players. The only player to shoot a worse score was PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner, who carded a 74.
Australia’s Adam Scott is in sole possession of second place following his five-under 65, while Steve Stricker and Billy Horschel of the US share third at four-under 66.
Roberto Castro shot a 67 to sit alone in fifth.
Reigning FedEx Cup winner Brandt Snedeker had a one-under 69 and is in a tie for 14th place.
Horschel parred his final four holes to hold the clubhouse lead for a while.
“It all comes down to putting the ball in the fairway. I think if you’re in the rough it’s hard to judge whether it’s going to come out flying or it’s going to come out dead and you can’t control the spin,” Horschel said. “I did a good job putting the ball in the fairway, which gave me an opportunity to attack the flag.”
Playing in the penultimate group ahead of Stenson, Scott stormed up the leaderboard with a sizzling back nine.
The Masters champion countered bogeys at the third and eighth with a birdie at the sixth to make the turn at one-over, then poured in six birdies over a seven-hole stretch from the 10th to grab a share of the lead.
“This is always a tricky course,” Scott said. “If you’re playing well, there’s a good chance to score and if you’re playing bad it’s really tough to score out there.”
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
RSS