Stenson in front at Tour Championship
ATLANTA — Just getting to East Lake is the challenge for Henrik Stenson. Playing the golf course appears to be the easy part.
Two years after his wiretowire victory to capture the FedEx Cup, Stenson was just as dominant Thursday until he stalled at the end and had to settle for a 7under 63 and a twoshot lead over Paul Casey in the Tour Championship.
Stenson ripped a 4wood from 288 yards to 25 feet and made the eagle putt on the par5 ninth to go out in 29. He added two more birdies to reach 8 under through 12 holes until he made pars the rest of the way and his lone bogey on the 17th.
Even so, it was just the start he wanted on a course that he has figured out. Stenson opened with a 64 two years ago, stretched his lead to as many as nine shots in the third round and joined Tom Watson as the only wiretowire winners of the Tour Championship.
He missed last year when he failed to get into the top 30 who qualify for the FedEx Cup finale, and knew he only needed to get back to have a chance.
“I wanted to get out of the blocks quickly, and I surely did,” Stenson said.
Jason Day, in his first tournament as the No. 1 player in the world, stayed with Stenson until one shot. Day birdied his opening three holes, but his drive on the par4 fifth hole sailed through the trees on the right, over the fence and outofbounds. He made triple bogey and never really got back on track. He shot a 69 and was six behind.
“I wish I could say that I was a machine and I can hit it straight down the gut every single time, 315 yards,” Day said. “But unfortunately, as humans we’re going to make errors. ... To make triple was pretty disappointing, but it’s early on in the tournament, so I can’t dwell on that.”
Rory McIlroy started slowly, finished the front nine with three straight birdies and had a 66 to join British Open champion Zach Johnson.
Jordan Spieth took the stress out of his game and rarely was out of position. He just didn’t hit it close enough for birdie chances, made three of them and shot a 68 to join a large group that included Brooks Koepka and Brandt Snedeker.