RIO DE JANEIRO -- British Open champion Henrik Stenson is close enough to think about adding an Olympic gold medal to his silver claret jug.He just took a long and wild route to get himself into contention on Friday.Marcus Fraser of Australia got off to a quick start, stretched his lead to four shots at one point, and wound up with a 2-under 69 for the 36-hole lead in the first Olympic golf competition since 1904. He had a one-shot lead over Thomas Pieters of Belgium, a former NCAA champion who closed with three straight birdies.Still, it was the sight of Stenson on the leaderboard that was hard to ignore.Only a month ago, the 40-year-old Swede won his first major and got his name on the claret jug at Royal Troon with the lowest score in major championship history. On Friday, he had a 68 to go into the weekend at Olympic Golf Course just two shots behind and in the final group.But this was hardly a masterpiece.In the wind and a hard rain, Stenson had to hit 4-wood to reach the green on the second hole and made a 60-foot birdie putt. He hit into the water on the next hole and still had a full 4-wood just to reach the front part of the green. Stenson made a par putt from 108 feet.Youre just standing there, praying for a two-putt bogey. Before I know it, it found the bottom of the cup, Stenson said. Thats the longest putt Ive made in my career. First of all, its hard to get a putt that long on any green in the world.He followed by duffing a tee shot and making bogey, and it was a relief to play what he called ordinary golf until another wild finish.Stenson had a three-putt bogey, followed by two birdies, and then a tee shot he missed so badly that it came up 30 yards short and into a bunker for a bogey on the par-3 17th. He finished his round with a delicate pitch from a drop area, but only after his caddie had to ask Brazilian fans in the bleachers around the 18th green to move 20 feet because their shadows were dancing around his golf ball.Three-under is not a bad score out there, especially not with that first five or six holes in those conditions, Stenson said. All in all, happy with that. I didnt play as solid as I did yesterday, but were still in the race and still in good position halfway through the tournament.Golf hasnt been part of the Games in 112 years, so none of these players grew up dreaming about an Olympic medal. For someone like Stenson, the highest-ranked player in the 60-man field, his current results are like getting through the preliminary heats in a traditional Olympic sport.Then again, not even he knows what to expect out of his game. No other Olympic sport has so many contenders.Its not like some of the other sports where if you jump a certain distance or swim at a certain time, you can pretty much figure out who is going to win and finish second and third, Stenson said earlier this week. Ours is a bit more down to the form for the week and on any given day.At the halfway point, Olympic golf was starting to take shape.Fraser was at 10-under 132 -- another day, another Olympic record. Of course, given how long the sport has been absent from the Games, new marks are being set every day. The Australian caught only a little of the nasty weather, and it didnt last long before the sun came out. Fraser built a four-shot lead before dropping two shots, including the reachable par-4 16th, where it took him two chips to reach the green.Playing with Stenson on Saturday could be intimidating, through Fraser saw it differently.Any time you play with Stenson on the weekend, you know youre doing something right.Pieters made up a lot of ground in a hurry by driving just through the green on the 16th for a two-putt birdie from 75 feet, holing a 15-foot birdie on the 17th and then two-putting from just off the green on the par-5 18th.Justin Rose of Britain and Gregory Bourdy of France each shot 69 and were four shots behind.The Americans, the only country with four players, were still lingering. Matt Kuchar had a 70 and was seven shots behind, following by Bubba Watson (67) at 2-under 140 and Patrick Reed (69) nine shots back.Rickie Fowler was still near the bottom. Even with actor Matthew McConaughey following along, Fowler made three bogeys on the back nine and had to settle for a 71, leaving him 14 shots out of the lead. Barring a low round Saturday, he likely will leave Rio with plenty of selfies, but no medals. Authentic USWNT Jerseys . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. USWNT Jerseys . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. http://www.cheapusawomenssoccerjerseys.com/ .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. Red USWNT Jerseys . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Team USA Womens Soccer Jerseys . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. EUGENE, Ore. -- Troy Dye has appeared in just one college game but already hes grabbing attention with his play -- so much so that he was named Pac-12 defensive player of the week.Even the freshman linebacker was kind of surprised by his opening line in Oregons 53-28 season-opening victory over UC Davis: 11 tackles, including seven solo, 4.5 for loss and a sack. He also blocked a field goal attempt. His overall tackles led the team, and his tackles for loss led the nation.It was the most for an Oregon freshman since Walter Thurmond III had 14 tackles in 2006.The atmosphere was wonderful. It was definitely the atmosphere I expected. But the way I played I didnt expect at all, he said. I went out there and read what I read and played fast and physical like the coaches told me to do. So I mean I just had fun.Dye was also named the Ducks internal defensive player of the week, coach Mark Helfrich said Sunday.Hell no doubt look to build on his debut on Saturday night when the 24th-ranked Ducks host Virginia. The Cavaliers, under new coach Bronco Mendenhall, fell to Richmond 37-20 in their opener.Dye, who was considered among the nations top 30 prospects at safety as a prep player, graduated early from Norco High School in Southern California and arrived in Eugene in time to participate in spring drills. He broke up a pass and had three assisted tackles in the spring game.The 6-foot-4 freshman worked hard through the summer and added 15 pounds to bring him up to 225.He figures to be an important piece of the Ducks defense under new coordinator Brady Hoke, the former Michigan coach, who is installing a new 4-3 scheme.The Ducks needed a defensive makeover. Oregon ranked last in the league by allowwing 37.dddddddddddd5 points per game last season. Defensive lapses included last seasons Alamo Bowl, when the Ducks squandered a 31-0 halftime lead and fell 47-41 in triple overtime to TCU.There was admittedly more work to do following the victory over the Aggies. The Ducks allowed UC Davis 21 points in the second half.There is a ton of stuff we can get better at. Usually, you make the most improvement between games one and two and we have a lot of improvement to make, Hoke said. It was a tale of two halves. In the first half, I thought we played on edge a bit and then we came out in the second half and didnt feel the same edge. We gave up some plays you cant give up.Hoke didnt seem all that surprised about Dyes ability.Hes a very, very good athlete. I think his football instinct IQ is very good. I dont know that absolutely surprised anybody, Hoke said. But there are some things he can do better, too.Helfrich wasnt surprised, either.Everything he does in drills, he just competes his face off and hell hit you, Helfrich said. Hes a guy that weve been very excited about since the day he got here.His teammates say Dye studies hard when it comes to the playbook and game film. He said it helps him play fast and, after Saturdays win, he was already looking forward to seeing the film on the Cavaliers.Its obviously paid off for him to be prepared.Sometimes when I was out there I knew what was coming, Dye said. We watched a lot of film last week and we dissected the offense really well, so I mean there were a lot of indicators and keys that they had so I just read them. Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys NFL China Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping ' ' '