ATLANTA — Henrik Stenson broke another club Friday — this time by accident.

And it didn’t matter.

Playing with only 13 clubs in the bag after his 4-wood broke on the practice range, Stenson made three birdies on the opening four holes at East Lake to quickly seize control and shot 4-under 66 to build a four-shot lead over Adam Scott in the Tour Championship.

For all his birdies, the best move he made all week was deciding to put the 4-wood in his locker instead of carrying it with him.

Stenson heard a funny sound after hitting five shots on the range, showed it to Steve Stricker and realized the face caved in. A television viewer who heard about the incident called the PGA Tour to see if the Swede had kept it in his bag, and officials checked with Stenson after his round.

If he had left it in the bag without using it, Stenson would have been assessed a four-shot penalty — the margin of his lead. If he had used the club, he would have been disqualified. Stenson had no intention of using it, though sending it to his locker saved him.

Stenson was at 10-under 130 going into the third round and might be playing a course far less firm. The forecast is for rain most of day, and the starting times have been moved up to Saturday morning with hopes of getting it in.