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Olympic Golf: Justin Rose Leads Henrik Stenson By One Shot In Gold Medal Race

By Adam McGee

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Justin Rose surged to the front of the Olympic golf tournament with a 65, but only leads Henrik Stenson by one shot heading into the final round.

It turns out Saturday is moving day at the Olympics too.

When Rickie Fowler charged out of the blocks early on Saturday morning, playing his first 10 holes in seven-under-par, it was clear that Saturday would see some change on the leaderboard at the first Olympic golf tournament for 112 years.

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.

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Fowler was certainly reminiscent of an early pace setter on the day. Having been criticized in some quarters for enjoying the Olympic experience away from the course a little bit too much, the 27-year-old, who played poorly in the first two days, bounced back in style.

In a round that included seven birdies and an eagle, Fowler missed an opportunity in playing the final eight holes in level par and would probably have felt a little disappointed to not go even better than 64 on Saturday.

With the American golfers struggling in the first half of the tournament, Fowler set down a marker that his compatriot Bubba Watson would follow when he hit the course.

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Watson played beautifully throughout his round. He picked up six birdies in total, and again, much like Fowler was left with reason to be disappointed by the time his round finished.

Bubba had a bizarre, duffed birdie putt on the 14th green, which saw the ball travel only about four feet of the 30 feet or so required of it. That resulted in a bogey that was quickly followed up by another thanks to a crooked iron shot on the 15th.

Watson did manage to recover from that momentary breakdown but with a par on the par 5 18th, he left shots out on the course yet still managed to work his way into a tie for fourth.

Watson wasn’t the only major champion putting together a good round to catapult himself into the top 10 either. Three-time major winner Padraig Harrington also shot a 67 to move him to a five-under-par total. Masters champion Danny Willett didn’t quite crack the top 10, but a 69 moved him to three-under and an outside chance at a bronze medal on Sunday.

As the 36-hole leader, Marcus Fraser, stumbled to a one-over 71, the big story of the day came from two men with major winning experience, who are currently ranked in the world’s top 15, moving to the fore.

Henrik Stenson had been well positioned throughout the tournament, thanks to steady and consistent play, but it was Justin Rose who made up the most ground to shoot his way into the 54-hole lead at the Olympic golf tournament.

Two eagles on the front nine helped to kickstart Rose early on, while a hot putter throughout the day allowed him to maintain his pace for a 65 and the second lowest round of the day.

Stenson’s 68 kept him in close quarters in spite of occasional wide shots throughout the 18 holes on Saturday.

The hope will now be that the finale of the men’s Olympic golf tournament can deliver the same type of drama that Stenson’s battle with Phil Mickelson did at the Open Championship earlier this summer. Either way, with a quality leaderboard it should make for a fun Sunday.

Men’s Olympic Tournament – Day 3 Scores and Leaderboard

1 Justin Rose (Great Britain) – 65 (-12)

2 Henrik Stenson (Sweden) – 68 (-11)

3 Marcus Fraser (Australia) – 72 (-9)

T4 Bubba Watson (USA) – 67 (-6)

T4 David Lingmerth (Sweden) – 68 (-6)

T4 Emiliano Grillo (Argentina) – 68 (-6)

T7 Gregory Bourdy (France) – 69 (-5)

T7 Padraig Harrington (Ireland) – 67 (-5)

T7 Matt Kuchar (USA) – 67 (-5)

T7 Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spain) – 71 (-5)

T7 Mikko Ilonen (Finland) – 66 (-5)

Next: Olympic Golf: Six Key Questions For The Weekend

Check back in with us tomorrow for all the coverage you need for Sunday’s finale.

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