DeChambeau, Stenson share Bay Hill lead

Bryson DeChambeau withdrew from the Valspar Championship last week because of a sore back, but seems to be back in the swing of things.

The 24-year-old from Clovis shot 6-under-par 66 to tie Henrik Stenson of Sweden for the lead midway through the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Fla.

“It’s not 100 percent, but it’s feeling much better,” said DeChambeau (pictured), whose back stiffened up after he slept in an awkward position early last week. “I’m feeling pretty healthy and I want to get another good night’s sleep to be ready tomorrow.

“It was a great round of golf and I had a lot of fun out there. The course is in great shape and my game is in a good place. I was able to hit a lot of fairways and greens, and then was able to make some putts.”

DeChambeau, who won the NCAA Championship while at SMU in 2016 and claimed his first PGA Tour victory in the 2017 John Deere Classic, sank a seven-foot eagle putt on the 16th hole while posting a 36-hole total of 11-under 133.

Stenson, the first-round leader at 64, equaled DeChambeau’s total with a bogey-free 69 that included three straight birdies through No. 7 after he started on the back nine and parred the first 13 holes.

“I scrambled for par on several of those holes after hitting some not so good golf shots,” said Stenson, who missed the cut last week in the Valspar Championship. “It took me a while to get warmed up, but then I started playing well.

“This is huge for my confidence to get my game going in the right direction. I’m playing in Houston in two weeks and want to be playing well heading to Augusta (for the Masters in three weeks).”

Taylor Gooch made five birdies on the back nine in a 70 and is two strokes back in third, followed another shot back by Byeong Hun An of South Korea, who had a 68, and Charley Hoffman of Poway, who is four behind in fourth after a bogey-free 66.

Seventh-ranked Rickey Fowler of Murrieta posted a 71 and is five behind in a tie for sixth with Billy Horschel (70), Luke List (67), Patrick Reed (70) and Ryan Moore (67).

Ernie Els, a two-time winner at Bay Hill, and Rory McIroy of Northern Ireland are in a tie for 11th after 70s while fifth-ranked Justin Rose of England totaled 71 and is in a tie for 17th that includes Tiger Woods, an eight-time winner of the Arnold Palmer Invitational who wound up at 72, and defending champion Marc Leishman of Australia, who had a 70.

Sixth-ranked Hideki Matsuyama of Japan is tied for 31st after a 72, while 10th-ranked Jason Day of Australia shot 71 and is in a tie for 53rd that includes Cal’s Collin Morikawa, a junior from La Canada Flintridge, who had a second 72 while playing on a sponsor exemption.

For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html.

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