McIlroy favourite on final day at Bay Hill
Another Sunday, another sight of Rory McIlroy in contention on the leader- board. Whatever happens in the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando today, there can be no doubt that simply in terms of the consistency, the Northern Irishman’s status as world No 1 is beyond question
On a challenging day at Bay Hill – where the winds combined with the drying conditions to turn the Florida layout into an imposing challenge – McIlroy battled for a one-over par 73 for a four-under total. It left him in a tie for second with the Australian Marc Leishman and Korean Sung Kang, two off the pace set by England’s Tyrell Hatton.
McIlroy, who is aiming for his second Bay Hill title in three years, showed his fighting qualities in a round featuring two bogeys and one birdie. In truth,
McIlroy has been a tad short of his best in the last three days, but it is a measure of his form that he is the favourite going into the conclusion.
Hatton would be a remarkable winner. The Englishman underwent wrist surgery in November and took three months off before returning with an impressive tie for sixth at the WGC Mexico Championship three weeks ago. There were four birdies in Hatton’s 73, but also three bogeys and a doublebogey. The birdie on the 18th handed Hatton a valuable cushion, his 32-footer for a three provoking a fist pump.
It was an impressive finish as Bay Hill has rarely looked tougher. The world No3 Brooks Koepka would testify to that. He shot an 81 to fall into a tie for 64th on 10-over.
At the Qatar Masters, Scotland’s David Drysdale has an opportunity finally to break his maiden tag on the European Tour. The Doha event is his 498th tournament on Tour, having turned professional 25 years ago. On 13-under, following a bogeyless seven-under 64, the Edinburgh golfer is only one off the pace set by Spaniard Jorge Campillo.
Sport in brief Tennis
British No1 Johanna Konta was beaten in straight sets by Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova in the semi-finals of the Monterrey Open. Bouzkova, a former junior US Open champion, secured a crucial break in the sixth game as she went on to claim the opening set. World No16 Konta, carrying a knee problem which required some strapping, had managed to hold two key service games before another costly unforced error saw the Briton broken again. Bouzkova then saved a couple of break points on her next serve to close out victory, winning 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 41 minutes.
Cricket
Women’s cricket was this morning hoping to break the record for the biggest crowd to attend a female sporting event. Organisers had sold more than 75,000 tickets for the Twenty20 World Cup final ahead of the match on International Women’s Day. Melbourne Cricket Ground’s capacity of 100,024 means the showpiece event between Australia and India could surpass the landmark 90,185 crowd at the 1999 women’s football World Cup final in California, when the United States beat China.
Rugby League
Salford head coach Ian Watson focused on the positives despite a 30-14 defeat at Catalans Dragons in the Betfred Super League. Two late tries were enough for Catalans as they were pushed all the way by the Red Devils. “We didn’t build enough pressure in the first half and we didn’t complete our sets or turn over on our terms,” said Watson. “But I thought we defended really well for large chunks of that first half. I know what our team is capable of and that was a big step forward tonight especially in terms of effort and attitude.”
Boxing
Scott Quigg was stopped in the 11th round of his fight with Jono Carroll last night. Quigg’s corner threw in the towel after a brutal fight which Quigg admitted afterwards might have been his last as a professional.
Darts
World No1 Michael van Gerwen defeated James Wade 10-4 with a dominant display at the Ladbrokes UK Open in Minehead to move into the quarter-finals. The Dutchman, who knocked out defending champion Nathan Aspinall on Friday, had earlier edged through his tie 10-9 against Jason Lowe. Elsewhere, Daryl Gurney upset world champion Peter Wright 10-6.