Ageless effort: Westwood makes run at Palmer title
ORLANDO, Fla. — Lee Westwood isn’t just killing time waiting to become old enough to compete against guys his own age.
He might not be able to contemplate driving a par-5 hole at a PGA Tour event — that sideshow Saturday at Bay Hill Club belonged to reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau — but the veteran English golfer with 25 European Tour career wins has shown at the Arnold Palmer Invitational that he can hang with players nearly half his age.
Westwood used the third round to post his lowest score ever at Bay Hill with a 7-under 65 that put him at 11-under 205 through 54 holes, giving him a one-shot lead over DeChambeau (68) and Canada’s Corey Conners (71), who had at least a share of the lead after each of the first two rounds.
“It’s nice to still be playing in these tournaments. You’ve got to be top 50 in the world,” Westwood said. “And if you would have said to me 20 years ago will you still be top 50 in the world at 48, I might have been slightly skeptical. And it just shows that I’m still capable of playing well in these tournaments with all the good young players around me, and obviously contending, because that’s what I’m doing this week.”
Westwood, who turns 48 next month, won against the strongest field of regular European Tour events last year in Abu Dhabi, and he ended 2020 as No. 1 in Europe for the third time by winning the Race to Dubai. He is seeking a third PGA Tour victory, with his first coming in 1998 and his second in 2010.
DeChambeau made six birdies in the third round, but only one got all the attention — mainly because the 27-year-old American had teased all week about taking all the water on the right-to-left bending par-5 sixth.
The fans began cheering. Out came the driver. DeChambeau gave it a rip and raised his arms, a scene right out of the World Long Drive Championship, then thrust both arms in the air again when he saw the shot clear the hazard, run through the fairway and into the rough, 70 yards from the hole.
“Oh, man, I felt like a kid again, for sure,” DeChambeau said. “It was exciting, especially when you pull it off. It was almost like winning a tournament. It’s kind of the feeling I had. It was like, ‘Oh, I did it.’ I got the same chills and feeling when I saw it clear and there was no splash. I gave the fans what they wanted.”
That might not have been the shot of the day. Jordan Spieth made a holein-one with a 5-iron from 222 yards on No. 2, while Jazz Janewattanond had an ace on the 212-yard 14th hole. Westwood grabbed the lead by holing a 30-foot eagle putt on the 16th hole (DeChambeau made birdie) and a 30-foot birdie putt on the closing hole (DeChambeau made par).
Keegan Bradley shot a 64, the low round of the week, and was tied for fourth with Spieth at 9 under. England’s Tommy Fleetwood (68) was one stroke back, with Thailand’s Janewattanond (69) tied for seventh at 7 under with two Americans — Doug Ghim (65), Richy Werenski (69) — and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (72), the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational champ.
Keith Mitchell (69) was in the best position of the three Baylor School graduates at the tournament, tied for 29th at 3 under. Harris English (71) was another shot back and tied for 35th, with Luke List (75) tied for 61st at 2 over.