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. Discount Ecco Shoes Online . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. Cheap Ecco Shoes Online . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. http://www.cheapecco.us/ . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Discount Ecco Shoes Sale . 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It hasnt been a good year to be a defender for the Western Bulldogs, with their backmen bearing the brunt of the clubs shocking run of injuries.Skipper Bob Murphys season-ending knee injury headlined the extensive casualty list that also included front-line defenders like Jason Johannisen, Matt Suckling, Easton Wood and Marcus Adams at various stages.Despite that adversity newly-crowned coach of the year Luke Beveridge managed to mastermind a defence that conceded the third fewest points in the competition during the home-and-away season.This years been a challenging one of the injury front ... weve lost some key players, which has presented some challenges, veteran defender Dale Morris said.The thing with Bevo is we have guys playing multiple roles as well, so weve had some midfielders and some forwards come and play down back.Weve had guys who have just had to speend some time down there.ddddddddddddnd with our VFL team weve been able to play guys in different positions and train them up, so when they came in they knew exactly what was expected of them.Its been a key reason why we are where we are.Morris and fellow veteran Matthew Boyd have been vital to that success, avoiding the injury curse to anchor Beveridges back six.Morris, who will likely get the big job on Lance Franklin in the grand final, paid tribute to Boyd who earned a third All Australian nod for his stellar season.Over the past couple of years its been great to have that added experience down back, he said of the former top-line midfielder.Hes just embraced the role and done some really nice things in the back half.Hes been great. 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