Stenson and DeChambeau tied for lead at Bay Hill
ORLANDO, FLA. Henrik Stenson gave himself another chance to win at Bay Hill and he made it a little bit tougher on Tiger Woods.
Stenson made three big par saves at the turn to keep the round from getting away from him, ran off three straight birdies on his back nine and posted a 3-under 69 that gave him a share of the 36-hole lead Friday with Bryson DeChambeau in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Stenson and DeChambeau were at 11-under 133, two shots clear of PGA Tour rookie Talor Gooch (70).
Mackenzie Hughes (69) of Hamilton was tied for 38th at 1-under. Nick Taylor (74) of Abbotsford missed the cut after a two-round score of 2-over par.
The chilly weather warmed in the afternoon, just not enough for Woods to do the same. He didn’t make a birdie until the 12th hole, never had a birdie putt inside 12 feet except for the par 5s on the back nine, and did well to scrap it around for a 72 to go into the weekend seven shots behind.
“I didn’t hit the ball close, I didn’t hit the ball well,” Woods said. “But I was just hanging in there ... just try not to shoot myself out of the tournament.”
In Phoenix, Cydney Clanton holed out from the fairway for eagle on 13 and closed with a birdie Friday to take the second-round lead in the LPGA’s Founders Cup.
Clanton shot a 5-under 67, playing the back nine at Desert Ridge in 5-under 31 to reach 9-under 135. Ariya Jutanugarn, Marina Alex, Karine Icher and Mariajo Uribe were a stroke back on a calmer day after wind made scoring more difficult Thursday.
Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que. (71) is the top Canadian at 4-under. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., (72) finished at even par and missed the cut by one shot.