Poor finish proves costly for Lee

A double bogey on the 18th hole saw New Zealand’s Danny Lee drop to a share of fourth place after the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The Kiwi golfer had been one shot behind the leaders Tyrrell Hatton and Sung Kang after shooting 67 in the second round, but he could only card 75 at Bay Hill in Florida yesterday.

Lee was three-under after three rounds, three shots behind leader Hatton.

The 29-year-old Kiwi – who has earned $20 million ($US12.8 million) on the PGA Tour – is in a four-way tie for fourth with Christian Bezuidenhout (South Africa), Sungjae Im (Korea) and Harris English (USA).

Lee was tied for the lead after the 12th when he holed out from behind a tree for a birdie.

He had a bogey on the 15th before redeeming himself with a birdie on the next hole, but lost way with his double bogey on the 18th, taking six shots on the parfour hole after hitting his second shot into a water hazard, resulting in one-shot penalty.

Hatton has a two-shot overall lead from Rory Mcilroy and Marc Leishman after shooting 73 in the third round. Kang plummeted to eighth place after shooting 78 following triple bogeys on the 11th and 18th greens.

Hatton had a wild ride at the end as temperatures felt like the mid-50s with the wind. He had one par over his final five holes — birdie-bogey-bogey-birdie — before thrusting his fist in the air when the final putt fell.

The Englishman was at 6-under 210, the highest 54-hole score to lead at Bay Hill since 1993.

Max Homa played early and made double bogey on the 18th hole that ruined a tremendous round. He had to settle for 70. By the end of the day, it was the only score under par.

The average score was 75.91, the highest for any round at Bay Hill since it was 76.29 in the second round in 1983. It was the highest round at Bay Hill after the cut since it was 78.84 in the final round of 1980. That also was the last time no one broke 70.

Palmer loved a hard test and surely would have given this day a thumbs-up.

As for the players? That depends on who was asked, and particularly what they shot.

Brooks Koepka played his final four holes in even par for an 81, his highest score on the PGA Tour, surpassing the 80 he shot in the second round at Muirfield in the 2013 British Open.

Patrick Reed, who started the day three shots out of the lead, was still in the mix until two shots in the hazard on the 11th hole for a triple bogey. He threeputted for a double bogey on the 15th.

And then it got ugly on the par5 16th when his second shot from a bunker rifled through a tree and into the water.