LIV Golf: Henrik Stenson continued his fine start to series with second-round 69 to lead in Bedminster | Golf News

Henrik Stenson and Dustin Johnson fire matching 69s in the second round at Trump National in Bedminster, with the Swede three-shots clear of the pack on LIV Golf series debut; Stenson was stripped of Team Europe’s Ryder Cup captaincy for the 2023 event after joining the Saudi-backed tour

Henrik Stenson hits off the first tee during the second round

Henrik Stenson continued his red-hot debut on the LIV Golf series, firing a two-under-par 69 on Saturday to take a three-shot lead over Dustin Johnson in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Stenson and Johnson fired matching 69s in the second round at Trump National Bedminster.

Patrick Reed (73), Carlos Ortiz (70) and Talor Gooch are tied for third place, four shots back. Gooch vaulted up the leaderboard on the strength of a seven-under-par 64, the day’s best round by far.

Stenson, fresh off being relieved of his duties as the European Ryder Cup captain, offset a double-bogey on hole three with an eagle on the par-five eighth hole. Stenson then carded four birdies against two bogeys on the back nine.

“Today I definitely didn’t have my best, but I was hanging in there,” Stenson said. “It was tougher conditions with the wind.

“It’s a tough golf course, and the greens are extremely quick and quite undulated. With the wind, it’s even harder to put the ball in the perfect spots, and yeah, it was a bit of a grind at times.”

In the event’s team format, 4 Aces GC, featuring Johnson, Reed, Pat Perez and Gooch, are in first place at 20 under, six shots ahead of Majesticks GC. Stenson is part of the Majesticks team.

Phil Mickelson, one of the most high-profile names on the tour, has enjoyed a nightmare tournament and is well out of the running at four-over-par.

He was heckled on the first tee by a fan mocking the circuit’s connection to the Saudi royal family.

Asked if that annoyed him, Mickelson said, “No, I had a really good day. The people here have always been great. They’ve really treated me well. I had a really good day with the fans.”

Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland