Grace contending at BMW PGA after ‘ridiculous’ drop

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ORLANDO, Fla. – It is an impressive gathering atop the leaderboard at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard – a heady group of PGA TOUR tournament winners, major champions and highly-ranked names. Between Henrik Stenson – who leads Bryson DeChambeau by one – and one of those tied for 10th, Tiger Woods, the standings include names that would surely please the late Mr. Palmer – Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Ryan Moore, Charley Hoffman and Rickie Fowler. Forget Woods’ 79 PGA TOUR wins; the other seven names have won 41 times on the PGA TOUR and on 41 occasions worldwide. So, it’s a stout list of talent, though one name stands out if you invite a conversation about pure ball-striking: Stenson. “Oh, he hits it good. It’s nice; it’s really nice,� marveled McIlroy, a glimmer of admiration in his Irish eyes because when it comes to striking a golf ball, the best in the world know who the best are. Having played alongside Stenson’s rounds of 64 and 69 to open this API, Adam Scott – no slouch as a ball-striker – nodded his approval. “It’s quite a lethal combination he has, that strong 3-wood and those irons that drop from the sky,� said the Aussie. In Saturday’s third round, the “lethal combination� was again on display – Stenson hit 11 fairways and 11 greens, including five of the last six – and had the putter not let him down his lead, would likely be three or four. Instead, he shot 1-under 71 and at 12 under will start Sunday’s final round one clear of DeChambeau (72), two in front of McIlroy (67), and three ahead of Rose (67) and Moore (69). Fowler (70), tied with Hoffman, Talor Gooch (73) and Byeong-Hun An (72), is four back, while Woods shot 69 – 209 and is tied for 10th and five behind. “I could have a two- or three-shot lead, which would have been a nice cushion,� said Stenson, “but I’ve been in the mix a few times and I’m back here trying to give it a go tomorrow.� That’s a reference to finishes inside the top 10 in four straight yeas (2013-16), but while he came up short each time, rarely does he have to cite ball-striking. “I’ve watched him hit a lot of golf balls (at Lake Nona, across town) and he’s one of those guys, when he’s in the mood, he’s unstoppable,� said Graeme McDowell. Having worked with heralded swing coach Pete Cowen, who also mentors Stenson, McDowell has seen plenty of the Swede. “He’s such a big man. He’s the typical Viking from that part of the world – you can imagine 6-foot-5 bearded guys with an axe in their hand coming at you. That’s pretty much what Stenson would look like coming at you.� Even out on the PGA TOUR, where the talent is deep and the list of possible winners goes on endlessly, Stenson stands out on a short list of premier ball-strikers – but of them, the way he goes about it is unique. “He’s such a big man, he creates so much elevation,� said McDowell. “Pete talks about it all the time, pressuring the ground and dropping the arms to creating so much downward pressure on the back of the ball. He’s one of the best 3-wood players on the planet. Just a phenomenal ball-striker – and when he gets the putter warmed up, he’s unstoppable.� Late Saturday afternoon, the putter didn’t heat up – missed birdie chances from 12 feet at the 13th, 7 feet at the 15th, 12 feet for eagle at 16, and another 7-footer at 18. Still, in possession of a one-stroke lead, Stenson shrugged, smiled, and declared himself satisfied. “Especially with the way I played coming in. I think that I didn’t really miss a shot the last six holes.� In other words, status quo for Stenson.

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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – The passing of the guard at the 118th U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills came in front of a makeshift stage with USGA insignia. Dustin Johnson (67, 4-under) was on his way to podium to meet the press when he passed Henrik Stenson (70, 1-over), who was on his way off the risers. “Go ahead,â€� Stenson said, patting Johnson on the shoulder. “Tell them you’re invincible.â€� Powering through unanticipated rain and cool weather, Johnson made a 45-foot birdie putt at the seventh hole, suffered just one bogey, and reminded many why he’s the No. 1 player in the word with a 67 that has him 4 under halfway through the tournament. Invincible? He sure looks that way. “I like where par is a good score on every hole no matter what club you got in your hand, what hole it is,â€� Johnson said. “… Around here, the fairways are fairly generous, but with crosswinds on every hole, they’re still tough to hit. Even though you’re in the middle of the fairway, a lot of times with a wedge you’ve still got to hit a good shot just to give yourself a 15- or 20-footer.â€� Stenson and fellow European Graeme McDowell (70, 9-over) said the pea soup weather made them feel like they were playing an Open Championship. But Johnson is reminding that he’s a threat on every type of course as he vies for his second U.S. Open title in the last three years. “We kind of played in it from 15 to about No. 3,â€� Johnson, whose group started on the back nine, said of the bad weather, “and then it kind of let up a little bit for us, and then we got to finish in some nice weather.â€� The leader played the first two rounds with Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas just days after taking back the No. 1 ranking from the latter by winning the FedEx St. Jude Classic. While Shinnecock is dissimilar to TPC Southwind, Johnson hasn’t lost a step. He hit 12 of 14 fairways, many times with his driver, to power his way across a course that played even longer than its stated yardage of 7,440. “Dustin was in complete control of what he’s doing,â€� Woods said. “He’s hitting the ball so flush and so solid. I know it’s windy, it’s blustery, it was raining early, but he’s hitting right through it.â€� OBSERVATIONS FLEETWOOD MAKES MOVE … With the wind and spitting rain, Tommy Fleetwood was only halfway through his round when he began anticipating being done. He survived, then he thrived, making three birdies in his last five holes for a 4-under 66, the best round of the week and enough to get him in contention after an opening 75. “It was windy and it was cold and the rain was coming down,â€� Fleetwood said. “It was literally counting holes down and trying to survive and make pars. Brightened up a little bit, and then I made some birdies towards the end.â€� A four-time winner on the European Tour who came into this week ranked 12th in the world, Fleetwood was 6 over for his first 15 holes Thursday. Now he’s just five behind the 36-hole leader after making putts and reeling off six birdies on an extremely difficult Shinnecock Hills course Friday, one made even tougher by the elements. “You have to keep going,â€� Fleetwood said. “I made a bunch of bogeys on that back nine in a row (Thursday), made one birdie in the last three, and then get a round like today and you’re back in it.â€�   STENSON BOUNCES BACK … Henrik Stenson crushed a driver 311 yards and blistered a 3-wood some 288 yards to reach the par-5 16th hole in two shots. He made the eagle putt from just inside 20 feet, the highlight of an even-par 70 that has him at 1 over and five behind the leader. “I still don’t feel like I’ve played that great tee-to-green,â€� Stenson said after hitting 12 of 14 fairways. “I’ve hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens, but it’s still been — you know, not the quality of strike that I would have liked to have and the control of the direction all the time. But certainly, when we needed two good swings on 16, we managed to find them.â€� As great as his eagle was, Stenson credited a par save at the long, par-4 12th hole as the key to his round. He holed a par putt of 14 feet, 7 inches to keep the round going. “I feel like I battled well, I holed out well,â€� he said. “A lot of tricky par putts these last two days, and just kept it together nicely.â€� FURYK FIGHTS HARD FOR 73 … Jim Furyk, 48, hasn’t played well as he prepares to take on the Ryder Cup captaincy in France, but his second-round 73 has him at 4 over and in the mix again at Shinnecock. The 2003 U.S. Open champion said he didn’t drive the ball well, which is normally one of his strengths, but, “I made a lot of good, solid par putts and was able to keep the round going.â€� A few of the pars he described as “magical.â€� (Not normally a Furyk word.) This, despite being caught completely off-guard by the bad weather. “No one in our group had an umbrella or a rain suit,â€� he said. “… When we were getting up this morning there was a zero percent chance of rain. I think when we got here I heard someone say it jumped to 15 percent. And then it rained for two hours.â€� Like other medium-length hitters, Furyk reported struggling to reach some of the longer par-4s. “Into that damp breeze, and with the rain, the ball was going absolutely nowhere,â€� he said. NOTABLES JUSTIN THOMAS – FedEx Cup No. 1 and world No. 2 fought hard while playing alongside Johnson and Woods, making short birdie at the par-3 seventh hole to give himself some wiggle room in making the cut. Signed for a second-round 70 to go into the weekend at 4 over. SERGIO GARCIA – With a new caddie on the bag shot a second-round 79 and at 14 over has no hopes of making the weekend. JON RAHM – Never looked comfortable at Shinnecock and struggled to a 77 (+15) to become the second member of the Spanish Armada group, after Garcia, to miss the cut by a mile. RUSSELL HENLEY – Held a share of the first-round lead but faded slightly with a second-round 73 to go into the weekend at 2 over and six shots off the lead. Made a triple-bogey 7 at the third. TIGER WOODS – Butchered the first hole again, his double-bogey 6 making him 5 over there in two days on the way to a second-round 72 to finish +10. Likely to miss the cut. QUOTABLES He definitely didn’t have it, but, really, he didn’t play that poorly.When we were getting up this morning there was a zero percent chance of rain. I think when we got here I heard someone say it jumped to 15 percent. And then it rained for two hours.  SUPERLATIVES Low round: 66, by Tommy Fleetwood.

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