ATLANTA - Stepping in from rain that ruined his rhythm and the back end of his round, Henrik Stenson was more interested in looking forward at the Tour Championship.
He still had a four-shot lead.
He was one round from capturing two trophies worth $11.44 million, including the FedEx Cup.
But Swede slipped just enough over the last two hours of a dreary Saturday morning at East Lake to make the final day of the PGA Tour season a little more interesting. He had a nine-shot lead at the turn and walked off the 18th green with a three-putt bogey and his lead back to where it was at the start of the day.
“Of course, I want to win two,” Stenson said after a 1-under 69. “If I can’t win two, I’ll be very pleased to win one. If I’m winning nothing, it will probably be not so sweet from this position. But I didn’t have anything when I came here, so we’ll see what we’ll leave with.”
Stenson appeared to have both wrapped up when he got up-and-down from a bunker on the par-5 ninth for a tap-in birdie to reach 14 under, nine shots clear of Dustin Johnson. Everything changed as the rain began to fall.
Stenson made four bogeys on the back nine, and it might have been worse if not for 12-foot putts he made on the 14th hole for bogey and the 17th hole for par. Johnson was five shots better on the back for a 67, matching the low round of a tough day for scoring and got into the last group.
“I think I’ll choose to look at it from the bright side, even though the weather is not that bright at the moment,” said Stenson, who was at 11-under 199. “Started the day with a four-shot lead and I still got it. So that’s all that matters really.”
Johnson and Steve Stricker, who had a 68 and was at 5-under 205, were the only players within six shots of him.
Johnson was the last man into the 30-man field at East Lake, and he left Chicago on Monday not sure whether he would get in. Now he at least has a shot to start and end the season with a victory. Johnson’s other victory this year was at Kapalua in the Tournament of Champions.
“If I keep driving it straight, then I’m going to give him a run tomorrow.”
Stenson, the No. 2 seed in the FedEx Cup, is in position to go home with a lot of money - $10 million for winning the FedEx Cup, $1.44 million for winning the Tour Championship. Even if he were to finish third, he still would be in good shape to win golf’s biggest payoff.
Tiger Woods, the No. 1 seed, didn’t make a birdie until he chipped in on the 14th hole. He rallied for a 69, the first time he has broken par all week. Woods was at 3-over 213, 14 shots behind in a tie for 26th.
Phil Mickelson finished the day where he started - at 2 under. He is nine shots behind Stenson.
Among the other FedEx Cup possibilities Sunday:
Stricker, who had a 68, could win the FedEx Cup by winning the Tour Championship. He could win with a runner-up finish, provided Stenson finished lower than ninth and Zach Johnson - in the group at 4-under 206 - was worse than seventh.
Zach Johnson, the No. 4 seed, still has a shot at the $10 million even without winning. He was seven shots behind, but one scenario is for him to finish runner-up and Stenson to finish third.
Even Dustin Johnson is mathematically still alive as the No. 30 seed. He would need to win (possible), have Woods finish last (possible) and make sure Stenson finishes in the 15th place (long shot). Johnson wasn’t interested in all that math and it wasn’t his field of study at Coastal Carolina, anyway.
“They didn’t require math,” he said.
All he cares about are the scores, and he’s still in with a chance after making up five shots on the back nine. That was mostly Stenson’s doing. The Swede got loose with a few shots, and the rain didn’t help.
“I can’t really complain that it was any tougher for me than for anybody else,” Stenson said. “When you lose a little bit of momentum … it’s just hard to find your rhythm again when you’rekind of jumping in and out from underneath an umbrella and trying to whack it to get back in underneath again. Soit’s a little more difficult, but we still kept it together. Like I said, we’ve still got a four shot lead.”
Stenson wasn’t feeling nearly as bad as Adam Scott, whom he led by four shots at the start of the day.
Tour Championship scores At East Lake Golf Club Atlanta Purse: $8 million Par 70, 7,307 yards Third of four rounds NOTE FedEx Cup playoff ranking in parentheses.
199 (-11) Henrik Stenson (2)....... 64-66-69 203 (-7) Dustin Johnson (30) .... 68-68-67 205 (-5) Steve Stricker (6) ......... 66-71-68206 (-4) Zach Johnson (4)......... 69-68-69 Justin Rose (9) ............ 68-68-70 Billy Horschel (22) ....... 66-70-70 Jordan Spieth (13) ....... 68-67-71 207 (-3) Luke Donald (29) ......... 70-70-67 Nick Watney (12) ......... 72-65-70 208 (-2) Webb Simpson (21) .... 68-71-69 Sergio Garcia (25) ........ 68-71-69 Bill Haas (18) ............... 70-69-69 Phil Mickelson (8) ........ 71-67-70Gary Woodland (17) .... 70-67-71 Adam Scott (3) ............ 65-69-74 209 (-1) D.A. Points (28) ........... 72-67-70 Keegan Bradley (16) .... 72-65-72 210 (E) Jason Dufner (20) ........ 74-70-66 Jason Day (14) ............ 68-74-68 Hunter Mahan (15) ...... 70-69-71 Roberto Castro (28) ..... 67-71-72 211 (+1) Brandt Snedeker (10) .. 69-75-67 Graham DeLaet (7) ...... 68-71-72Jim Furyk (11) ............. 70-68-73 212 (+2) Matt Kuchar (5) ............ 69-74-69 213 (+3) Tiger Woods (1) ........... 73-71-69 Brendon de Jonge (27) 70-72-71 215 (+5) K. Streelman (19)......... 69-72-74 218 (+8) B. Weekley (26) ............ 70-75-73 224 (+14) C. Schwartzel (23) ....... 68-79-77
Sports, Pages 38 on 09/22/2013