Thanks to a round of 6-under 65 and not one but two eagles, Justin Rose will take a one-shot lead over Henrik Stenson into the final round of the Olympic men’s golf tournament.
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Fraser leads on 10-under for the tournament after his two-under 69 left him one shot ahead of Belgium’s Pieters and two better than Swede Stenson.
Still, it was the sight of Stenson on the leaderboard that was so hard to ignore.
They will be rivals Sunday, playing under their own flag, each pursuing golf’s first Olympic gold medal since 1904.
But this was hardly a masterpiece. Then, at the third, his drive went into the water, and after a drop he managed to get a 4-wood to the very front of the green.
Henrik Stenson had joked before the Games that he was more anxious by bears than insects bearing the virus – which can cause birth defects – and he showed his courage when he approached what was reportedly a basking a caiman that had strayed onto the course, then poked it with his club.
“I said it to the guys walking off, ‘Now we are Olympians, ‘ and nobody can take that away from us”, he said. “That’s the longest putt I’ve made in my career”.
Put simply, the cream started to rise to the top in Rio as some of the best players in the world finally hit their rhythm.
Stenson did well to salvage a bogey on the eighth after being forced to play out sideways from the edge of a waste area following a poor tee shot.
After a birdie-bogey start, Rose – who also made a hole-in-one in the first round – fired eagles on the third and fifth holes to rocket up the leaderboard.
Rose doubled his advantage by holing his third shot from off the 12th green, before a sole blemish of the day at the 14th moved him in to a three-way tie alongside Fraser and Stenson. “All in all, happy with that”. “Before I know it, I think it found the bottom of the cup”. After one round, Matt Kuchar at 69 was the only American to break par. – A good night’s sleep was the secret to Rickie Fowler’s strong showing.
His two back-nine bogeys might have cost him a shot at glory tomorrow, but a birdie on 17 capped an otherwise impressive 67 that has him at six under overall. Barring a low round Saturday, he likely will leave Rio with plenty of selfies, just no medals.
World No. 5 Stenson, who won his first grand slam at last month’s British Open, is the highest-ranked player in the men’s field after Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy pulled out.
Fraser hit four birdies and two bogeys in his round of two under par to retain his lead heading into the second half of the competition but did admit that playing for his country at an Olympics does bring a different kind of pressure to the game.
Li, Xiong, Abdulghany and Welch earned spots on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team. Four birdies in five holes set him up for a four under 67, leaving him fourth three shots outside the medals.
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“Not in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would come to the Olympics and compete, and now all of a sudden I have a chance of winning a medal”, Fraser said.
