ORLANDO, FL – After 36 holes of the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational, Henrik Stenson and Bryson DeChambeau are tied for the lead at 11-under par 133.
Starting the day on Bay Hill’s 10th hole, Stenson was consistent and streaky, reeling off 13 straight pars followed by a hat trick of birdies (Nos. 5-7), and then two more pars to sign for a blemish-free 69.
“It’s a golf course that really suits my game. You got to hit a lot of fairways and greens and putt well and that seems to be working pretty well for me at the moment,” said Stenson, who’s hit 24 of 28 fairways through two rounds.
“So I’m just going to keep on playing my game, sticking to the same game plan and hopefully keep on making birdies. It’s a packed leaderboard, a lot of strong players closely behind, so yeah, I certainly got to keep my foot down and keep on pressing on if I want to get a victory.”
DeChambeau, meanwhile, finished his second day at Arnie’s Place with a 6-under 66, highlighted by an eagle-par-birdie finish to share the day’s low round.
“It was fantastic. Just striped a drive down 16. Had a nice little 8-iron in and just hit a nice little butter cut in there against the wind, held it against the wind,” said DeChambeau, describing his eagle.
“I thought it was going a little too much, but stayed up there and went to seven feet and I was able to knock it in.”
Taylor Gooch shot 2-under 70 and is alone in third-place at 9-under par, one clear of Byeong Hun An, who posted his second straight 68 to sit solo-fourth at 8 under.
Charley Hoffman matched DeChambeau’s low-round 66, highlighted by three-straight birdies before the turn. Hoffman’s performance resulted in a jump of 27 spots up the board, to fifth-place at 7-under par.
A group of five players sit T6 at 6-under par, including Ryan Moore (67), Luke List (67), Patrick Reed (68), Billy Horschel (68), and Rickie Fowler (71).
Rory McIlroy (70) headlines a group of five more players tied at 5-under par.
A logjam was one further back at 4-under par, including Tiger Woods (72), Justin Rose (71), Bubba Watson (70), Zach Johnson (71), and Marc Leishman (70), among others.
TOP 10
1 Henrik Stenson -11
1 Bryson DeChambeau -11
3 Talor Gooch -9
4 Byeong Hun An -8
5 Charley Hoffman -7
6 Rickie Fowler -6
6 Billy Horschel -6
6 Luke List -6
6 Patrick Reed -6
6 Ryan Moore -6
NOTABLES
11 Rory McIlroy -5
11 Ernie Els -5
17 Justin Rose -4
17 Tiger Woods -4
17 Bubba Watson -4
17 Marc Leishman -4
17 Zach Johnson -4
31 Hideki Matsuyama -2
38 Alex Noren -1
53 Jason Day E
66 Tommy Fleetwood +1
NOTABLES MISSING CUT
Sam Saunders +2
Kiradech Aphibarnrat +3
Matthew Fitzpatrick +3
Patton Kizzire +3
Charl Schwartzel +4
Brandt Snedeker +4
Louis Oosthuizen +6
Vijay Singh +6
Si Woo Kim +7
Smylie Kaufman +14
Danny Willett WD
STAT LEADERS
DRIVING
1 Sam Horsfield 309.3 (T38)
2 Grayson Murray 309.1 (T17)
3 Bubba Watson 307.6 (T17)
3 Adam Scott 307.6 (T38)
FAIRWAYS
1 Henrik Stenson 85.7% (1)
1 Davis Love III 85.7% (T53)
3 Bryson DeChambeau 82.1% (1)
3 Kyle Stanley 82.1% (T31)
3 Sean O’Hair 82.1% (T38)
3 Kevin Streelman 82.1% (T66)
GREENS
1 Charley Hoffman 83.3% (5)
2 Ryan Moore 77.8% (T6)
2 J.B. Holmes 77.8% (T11)
2 Tom Hoge 77.8% (T25)
2 Hudson Swafford 77.8% (T66)
PUTTS PER GIR
1 Patrick Reed 1.429 (T6)
2 Bryson DeChambeau 1.500 (1)
3 Sam Burns 1.571 (T11)
3 Tyrone van Aswegen 1.571 (T53)
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
EXIT QUESTION
It’s supposed to be more typical Florida weather tomorrow and Sunday it might even get into the high 80s. Do you embrace that kind of heat?
STENSON: Yeah, I live here, I make Orlando my home, I certainly prefer 75, 80 compared to 45, 50 playing golf. I might be Swedish, but I’ve gone soft, I lived in a nice climate for too many years. So, yeah, give me heat rather than cold I would say.
Credits: Getty Images, PGA Tour Media
