AVONDALE, La. – In his first two starts at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson partnered with his good friend and Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose of England. It was not particularly fruitful — they missed the cut in 2017 and finished T-19 a year ago. Last year, Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland teamed with another Englishman, Ian Poulter. They finished a ho-hum T-22. Rose is not playing this week. Poulter, meanwhile switched to one of his countryman, Sam Horsfield. Now Stenson and McDowell are together – and will go into the weekend at TPC Louisiana in prime contention at 12 under through two rounds, just two strokes off the lead. All that leads to one conclusion. “Nothing good comes out of England,â€� smiled G-Mac. He was joking, of course, especially with Rose and Poulter being so instrumental in past Ryder Cup success for the European Team. But McDowell, searching for a partner, was hardly disappointed when he got the text from Stenson asking if he wanted to team up. Although they’ve been teammates on just two Ryder Cup teams (and never partnered together) and have just three career rounds as playing partners at PGA TOUR events, McDowell and Stenson have shared plenty of practice time. They’ve owned the back of the range at Lake Nona for years, and they also share a coach in Pete Cowan. Related: Tee times | The secret ingredient to success in New Orleans | How International partners fared in Round 1 | Sabbatini, Gay find right formula “Henrik and Justin were a fantastic team,â€� McDowell said. “With Justin not playing this week, I was very, very pleased when I got the text from Henrik to play with him this week.â€� Interjected Stenson: “That was before he won, though.â€� It was less than a month ago when McDowell won the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, his first TOUR win in four years. He immediately followed that with a T-7 at the Valero Texas Open, making his trip this summer to Pebble Beach an intriguing one, given that he won the U.S. Open there in 2010. “I saw it coming,â€� Stenson said of G-Mac’s resurgence. “That’s why I was out early.â€� Explained McDowell: “I sent Henrik a text after he invited me to play, and I said to him, I look forward to you resurrecting my career for me at New Orleans. “Thankfully, I didn’t need to wait that long.â€� Playing 36 holes in a single day can test any golfer, especially one in his 40s (Stenson) and another one who’ll soon turn 40 (McDowell in July). But after an acceptable 7-under 65 in Four-balls on Friday morning, they turned around and shot a more impressive 67 with just a single bogey in the afternoon Foursomes when Stenson found the water at 18 with a 6-iron. “It was really pleasing to play as well as we did in what I consider the toughest format in golf, Foursomes,â€� McDowell said. Added Stenson: “I wouldn’t say we played our absolute, absolute best, but the few times that we did miss, we were lucky enough that it didn’t cost us too much.â€� Although McDowell has won recently, Stenson’s last top 10 in a stroke-play event on the PGA TOUR was a T-6 at last summer’s U.S. Open. “I feel like I’m a little away from firing on all cylinders,â€� Stenson said. But McDowell isn’t worried that he’ll need to carry the team this weekend. “He says he’s not firing on all cylinders,â€� G-Mac said, “but I’ll take a Stenson not firing on all cylinders as my partner any day of the week.â€�
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