Bay Hill’s conditions blow away competition
The conditions at the Arnold Palmer Invitational — wind, cool air, thick rough, brick-hard greens, a few tucked pins — took their toll on the field Saturday.
No one broke 70. Only one player broke par. That was Max Homa, who finished an hour before the leaders started. Brooks Koepka had an 81, the highest score of his PGA Tour career.
Tyrrell Hatton ended the most brutal day at Orlando’s Bay Hill in 37 years with a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole, and he thrust his arm in the air without really knowing why.
“I don’t normally fist pump on a Saturday,” Hatton said after his hardearned round of 1-over 73. “I think it was more shock that the ball actually went in the hole. And very relieved.”
He might have been happy to have survived, or that gravity that pulled the ball into the cup kept it from rolling another 8 feet, or that it gave him a twoshot lead over Rory Mcilroy and Marc Leishman.
“I don’t think anyone enjoyed that today,” he said with a laugh. “It was just ... it was just so hard.”
Mcilroy was happy with his run of 13 straight pars, delighted to make his first birdie on the par-5 16th and not terribly bothered by a bogey on the final hole for a 73. His goal was to survive, and he managed that.
“I saw some of the scores this morning and saw it was tough, but I guess I thought I could still go out there and shoot something sub-70,” Mcilroy said. “And then once I got out there I was like, ‘Oh, maybe not.’”
Leishman has rarely been more thrilled with a round at even par — two bogeys, two birdies, 14 pars. He had to make sure that’s what he scored.
“I actually added my score up and kind of did a double-take,” Leishman said. “It added up to 72 and it felt like I shot 65. So yeah, it was really tough. The greens were firm, fast. It was exactly how you wanted the golf course to play, really. Par was a great score, and hopefully I can play like that again tomorrow.”
Hatton was at 6-under 210, the highest 54hole score to lead at Bay Hill since Ben Crenshaw in 1993.
Homa made the cut on the number and played early — no advantage on this day with wind and cold air that felt more like California during the West Coast Swing — 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.
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 — the course in Scotland, not Ohio — for the 2013 British Open.
Sung Kang was the only player to reach 8 under for the day. He started out in a tie with Hatton and was holding his own until hitting his tee shot and his approach into the water for a triple bogey. He went out-of-bounds with his final tee shot and closed with another triple bogey for a 78. He still was only five shots behind.
ELS LEADS AT HOAG CLASSIC >> Ernie Els took the second-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ Hoag Classic in Newport Beach, eagling the par-5 15th and birdieing the final two holes for a 7-under 64. Defending Charles Schwab Cup champion Scott Mccarron and Monday qualifier David Morland IV of Canada were a stroke back.
Tennis
BRYANS GO OUT ON TOP >> Bob and Mike Bryan won the final Davis Cup match of their brilliant career to advance the United States into the final, beating Uzbekistan’s Sanjar Fayziev and Denis Istomin 6-3, 6-4 in Honolulu. The victory gave the United States an insurmountable 3-0 lead. The Americans were the final team to earn a spot in the 18-country final in Madrid in November.
The Bryan twins, Stanford products, plan to retire after the U.S. Open and don’t intend to play in the Davis Cup Finals.
Boxing
HELENIUS UPSETS KOWNACKI >> Robert Helenius stunned heavily favored Adam Kownacki with a powerful barrage in the fourth round, stopping the previously undefeated heavyweight in a WBA eliminator Saturday night at the Barclays Center.
The loss is a major setback for the 30-year-old Kownacki (20-1), who could have been in line for a title bout with an impressive showing. Now, he’ll have to work his way back in a division dominated by three men: Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder.
Motors
ELLIOTT CAPTURES POLE >> Chase Elliott won the pole for today’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Phoenix Raceway, his first pole of the season and ninth of his career.
Elliott made it around the 1-mile oval in 26.065 seconds. It’s the first time the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver has won a pole in Arizona. He’ll start the race on the front row alongside nine-time Phoenix winner Kevin Harvick, who finished 0.045 seconds behind Elliott.
Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin qualified third, while Kyle Larson was fourth and current points leader Ryan Blaney was fifth.
Soccer
MLS ROUNDUP >> Ezequiel Barco and Emerson Hyndman scored and Atlanta beat FC Cincinnati 2-1 in United’s first game since losing Josef Martinez to a knee injury . ... Nigerian rookie Ifunanyachi Achara scored in the 81st minute in his MLS debut to give Toronto FC a 1-0 victory over New York City FC . ... Damir Kreilach scored in stoppage time to pull Real Salt Lake even with the New York Red Bulls, 1-1. ... Sporting Kansas City scored two quick goals and rolled to a 4-0 win over Houston.