Two tied for lead at brutal Bay Hill

Billy Horschel got a rare break at Bay Hill on a day that punished so many others, leading to a birdie on the 18th hole Saturday for a 1-under 71 that gave him a share of the lead with Talor Gooch in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando.

Horschel was buried in deep rough behind the 18th green and facing a fast chip down the hill. His foot was on a sprinkler head and he received a free drop. From the collar, he was able to use putter and his 30-foot putt trickled into the cup.

“To make that putt on 18, to shoot 1 under on a really tough day is really satisfying,” he said.

It was a happy moment, and those were hard to find in a third round where Viktor Hovland lost a four-shot lead at the turn, Matt Jones heaved his putter into the water and Rory McIlroy lost momentum with a tee shot out-ofbounds.

Scottie Scheffler managed to make a charge. After missing three par putts in a row from 6 feet or closer to cap off his front nine, he made three birdies and a 20-foot eagle for a 31 on the back for a 68, matching the low score of the day.

He started the day eight shots behind. He ended it two shots out of the lead.

Scheffler and everyone else had an idea of what to expect on a course that is a strong test in any condition. Add gusts of about 15 mph and greens so baked by the sun there was barely any grass, and this was all the best players in golf could handle.

Gooch and Horschel were at 7-under 209.

PGA CHAMPIONS TOUR

Ernie Els rebounded from a bogey on the par-3 17th with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 18th to take the lead in the Hoag Classic on a cool, windy Saturday at Newport Beach Country Club.

The defending champion in the event that was canceled last year, Els shot a 3-under 68 to take a one-stroke lead over fellow two-time U.S. Open champions Lee Janzen and Retief Goosen and first-round leader Cameron Beckman.

Janzen had a 66, the best round of the day in the difficult conditions.

LPGA

In Gee Chun shot a 6-under 66 Saturday to lead a trio of South Korean golfers at the top of the leaderboard after three rounds of the LPGA Tour’s HSBC Women’s World Championship.

Chun had a 54-hole total of 12-under 204 on the Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong course. She had a one-stroke lead over Jeongeun Lee6 (65) and No. 1-ranked Jin Young Ko, who shot 69.

KENYA OPEN

Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma birdied three of his last four holes to grab a one-shot lead halfway through the Kenya Open on Friday.

A birdie-birdie finish earned him a 4-under-par 67 and a 10-under total at Muthaiga Club.