McIlroy, Fowler headline API field
A year after he had a chance to win on the final hole, Rory McIlroy will return to the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the fourth straight year.
McIlroy, a four-time major champion, said he plans to return to Bay Hill Club and Lodge for years to come, both to honor the late Palmer’s legacy and play a course that suits the 28-year-old’s game.
“I’m going to play the event every year,” McIlroy said Wednesday on the eve of the Honda Classic. “I love the golf course.”
Ranked 10th in the world, McIlroy headlines a growing list of big-name players who have committed to play the 2018 API, scheduled for March 15-18.
McIlroy will be joined in the field by world No. 5 Justin Rose, No. 6 Hideki Matsuyama, No. 7 Rickie Fowler, No. 8 Jason Day, the 2016 winner, and No. 14 and defending champion Marc Leishman. 2017 runners-up Kevin Kisner and Charley Hoffman also have committed to play.
Leishman grabbed the lead last year for good with a 51-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th hole.
Kisner squandered a three-shot lead with three bogeys on the back nine, while Hoffman’s bid ended with a bogey on the penultimate hole.
Needing to birdie the final hole, McIlroy made bogey to finish two shots behind Leishman and tied for fourth place.
Tournament organizers are still waiting word on Tiger Woods, the biggest winner in API history.
Woods will tee it up this week at PGA National, but declined to say whether he planned to play Bay Hill for the first time since 2013, when he won the event for the eighth time.
“We’ll see,” Woods said.